ados, Belize, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica,
Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and
Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela

observers - (21) Andean Promotion Corporation, China, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, EEC, Guatemala, Honduras, IADB, Inter-
American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation, Italy, Nicaragua, OAS,
Panama, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, UN Development
Program, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin American Integration Association (LAIA): note - also known as
Asociacion Latinoamericana de Integracion (ALADI)

established - 12 August 1980; effective - 18 March 1981

aim - to promote freer regional trade

members - (12) Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba,
Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

observers - (22) China, Commission of the European Communities,
Corporacion Andina de Fomento, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Inter-American Development Bank, Inter-
American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Italy, Latin America
Economic System, Nicaragua, Organization of American States, Panama,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Nations
Development Program, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean

least developed countries (LLDCs): that subgroup of the less developed
countries (LDCs) initially identified by the UN General Assembly in
1971 as having no significant economic growth, per capita GDPs normally
less than $1,000, and low literacy rates; also known as the undeveloped
countries; the 42 LLDCs are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan,
Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African
Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos,
Lesotho, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger,
Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan,
Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen

less developed countries (LDCs): the bottom group in the hierarchy of
developed countries (DCs), former USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE),
and less developed countries (LDCs); mainly countries and dependent
areas with low levels of output, living standards, and technology;