ali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman,
Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan,
Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Uganda, UAE, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Palestine Liberation Organization

Latin American Economic System (LAES): note - also known as Sistema
Economico Latinoamericana (SELA)

established - 17 October 1975

aim - to promote economic and social development through regional
cooperation

members - (27) Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Secretaria General Iberoamericana (SEGIB), Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela

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

League of Arab States (LAS): note - also known as Arab League (AL)

established - 22 March 1945

aim - aim - to promote economic, social, political, and military
cooperation

members - (21 plus the Palestine Liberation Organization) Algeria,
Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen, Palestine Liberation Organization

observers - (3) Eritrea, India, Venezuela

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 L