Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASIAN)

It is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace. In 2005, the bloc had a combined GDP (Nominal/PPP) of about USD $ 884 billion/$ 2.755 trillion growing at an average rate of around 4% per annum. Nominal GDP had grown to $1,066.4 billion in 2006.
ASEAN was founded by five states, mostly from maritime Southeast Asia:
The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The British protectorate of Brunei joined six days after the country became independent from the United Kingdom on January 8, 1984. The mainland states of Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar were later admitted. Vietnam joined on July 28, 1995, while Laos and Myanmar were admitted on July 23, 1997. Cambodia became the newest member when it was admitted on April 30, 1999. The Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea has had observer status since 1976. In July 23, 2006, José Ramos Horta, the then Prime Minister of East Timor, signed a formal request for membership and expected the accession process to last at least five years before the then-observer state became a full member

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The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

The Caribbean Community and Common Market, was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas which came into effect on August 1, 1973. The first four signatories were Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM replaced the 1965–1972 Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), which had been organized to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean following the dissolution of the West Indies Federation which lasted from January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962. A Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was signed by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community on July 5 2001 at their Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Currently CARICOM has 15 full members:
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,
And There are Five associate members:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
And There are seven observers:
Aruba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela

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The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a trade bloc involving the six Arab Gulf states with many economic and social objectives. Created on May 25, 1981, the Council comprises the Persian Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The unified economic agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was signed on 11 November 1981 in Riyadh. These countries are often referred to as Gulf Cooperative Countries. Not all of the countries neighboring the Persian Gulf are members of the council. Iran is excluded, as is Iraq, although both nations have a coastline on the Persian Gulf. Yemen is (currently) in negotiations for GCC membership, and hopes to join by 2016

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The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is a trade agreement between countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
As of 1 May 2007, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo.
Former Parties:
Are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
CEFTA 2006 agreement:
All of the parties of the original agreement, except Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia, have joined the EU and thus left CEFTA. Therefore it was decided to extend CEFTA to cover the rest of the Balkan states, which already had completed a matrix of bilateral free trade agreements in the framework of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. On 6 April 2006, at the South East Europe Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest, a joint declaration on expansion of CEFTA to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo, Moldova, Serbia and Montenegro was adopted. Accession of Ukraine has also been discussed. The new enlarged agreement was initialled on 9 November 2006 in Brussels and has been signed on 19 December 2006 at the South East European Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest. By early August 2007, all countries except Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia had ratified the agreement; it had gone into effect in June. BiH and Serbia are expected to ratify in September 2007.

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The Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC)

The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC or EAEC) was put into motion on 10 October 2000 when Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the treaty. EurAsEC was formally created when the treaty was finally ratified by all five member states in May 2001. EurAsEC grew out of the CIS Customs Union. All the members of EurAsEC are also members of the older Commonwealth of Independent States and the relationship between the two organisations is ambiguous. The members have also all agreed that EurAsEC should be merged with the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO). With the revival of EurAsEC in 2005 there is a possibility for the Common Economic Space agenda to be implemented in its framework with or without the participation of Ukraine. This was confirmed in August 2006 [1] - initially a customs union, it will consist of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, with the other EurAsEC members joining later.
Membership:
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Observers:
Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine

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The European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was established on May 3, 1960 as an alternative for European states that were not allowed, or did not wish, to join the European Economic Community (now the European Community).The EFTA Convention was signed on January 4, 1960 in Stockholm by seven states.
Today only Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein remain members of EFTA (of which only Norway and Switzerland are founding members). The Stockholm Convention was subsequently replaced by the Vaduz Convention.This Convention provides for the liberalisation of trade among the member states. Three of the EFTA countries are part of the European Union Internal Market through the Agreement on an European Economic Area (EEA), which took effect in 1994; the fourth, Switzerland, opted to conclude bilateral agreements with the EU. In addition, the EFTA states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with a number of other countries

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GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development

The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) States: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. The group is sometimes seen as a way of countering the influence of Russia in the area and a strategy backed by the United States. Though at one point the GUAM was generally considered to have stagnated, recent developments have caused speculation on the possible revival of the organization. In 1999, the organisation was renamed GUUAM due to the membership of Uzbekistan, which however withdrew from the organisation in May 5, 2005, causing the restoration of the original name.
Members:
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova,and Ukraine .
Observers:
Turkey and Latvia

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The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The North American Free Trade Agreement is the trade bloc in North America created by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its two supplements, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), whose members are Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It came into effect on 1 January 1994. The North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA called off the majority of tariffs between products traded among the United States, Canada and Mexico, and gradually phased out other tariffs over a 15-year period. Restrictions were to be removed from many categories, including motor vehicles, computers, textiles, and agriculture. The treaty also protected intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, and trademarks), and outlined the removal of investment restrictions among the three countries. The agreement is trilateral in nature (that is, the stipulations apply equally to all three countries) in all areas except agriculture, in which stipulation, tariff reduction phase-out periods and protection of selected industries, were negotiated bilaterally. Provisions regarding worker and environmental protection were added later as a result of supplemental agreements signed in 1993. This agreement was an expansion of the earlier Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1988

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The Pacific Islands Forum (PARTA)

The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization which aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean and represent their interests. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum; the name was changed in 2000 to better reflect the correct geographic locations of its member states both in the north and south Pacific.
The Forum's member states are:
Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Since 2006, associate members territories are New Caledonia and French Polynesia. Membership:
Australia (AU), Cook Islands (CK), Fed. Sts. of Micronesia (FM), Fiji (FJ), Kiribati (KI), Nauru (NR), New Zealand (NZ), Niue (NU), Palau (PW), Papua New Guinea (PG), Marshall Islands (MH), Samoa (WS), Solomon Islands(SB) , Tonga (TO), Tuvalu (TV), Vanuatu (VU).
Associate Members:
New Caledonia (NC),
Observers:
Tokelau (TK) and Timor-Leste (TL)

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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia. In terms of population, its sphere of influence is the largest of any regional organization: almost 1.5 billion people, the combined population of its member states. It was established on December 8, 1985 by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan. In April 2007, at the Association's 14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth member.
Membership:
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, People's Republic of Bangladesh, Kingdom of Bhutan, Republic of India, Republic of Maldives, State of Nepal, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,
Observers:
People's Republic of China, European Union, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea And United States of America

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The Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA)

GAFTA is one of the most important economic achievements in the area of Arab common work. It contributes to efforts towards establishing the Arab Common Market. As of January 1st, 2005, the agreement reached full trade liberalization of goods through the full exemption of customs duties and charges having equivalent effect between all Arab countries
members of the GAFTA, except Sudan and Yemen being less developed countries where customs duties and charges having equivalent effect will be reduced by 16% annually as of January 1st , 2005 to reach full exemption by the end of 2010. The Project was adopted in the Arab League Summit of Amman in 1997, with 17 Arab League members signing the pact, it is supervised and run by the Arab Economioc Council in the Arab League, the Gafta has one of the highest incomes, populations, resources, and Area. it is a possible economic power.
Members:
Bahrain, Egypt , Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Possible future members:
Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, and Somalia

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The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an intergovernmental mutual-security organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization. Cooperation on security and Economic cooperation Framework Agreement to enhance economic The first meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held in Beijing on 21-22 February 2006. On 30 November 2006, at The SCO: Results and Perspectives, an international conference held in Almaty, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia is developing plans for an SCO "Energy Club".[9]cooperation was signed by the SCO member states on 23 September 2003. Membership:
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Observers:
India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan

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The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a preferential trading area with twenty member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. Nine of the member states formed a free trade area in 2000, with Rwanda and Burundi joining the FTA in 2004 and the Comoros and Libya in 2006. COMESA is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community The Treaty establishing COMESA was signed on 5th November 1993 in Kampala, Uganda and was ratified a year later in Lilongwe, Malawi on 8th December 1994. Member countries are Angola, Burundi comoros, D.R. Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seycelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. COMESA replaced the former Preferential Trade Area (PTA) which had existed from the earlier days of 1981. COMESA was established 'as an organisation of free independent sovereign states which have agreed to co-operate in developing their natural and human resources for the good of all their people.'
Membership:
Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Former members:
Lesotho (quit in 1997), Mozambique (quit in 1997), Tanzania (quit on September 2, 2000) and Namibia (quit in May 2, 2004)

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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an economic forum for a group of Pacific Rim countries to discuss matters on regional economy, cooperation, trade and investment. Together, these countries represent about 60% of the world economy (World Bank). The organization conducts the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, an annual summit attended by the heads of government of all APEC members except Chinese Taipei, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. The location of the summit rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host member. In January 1989, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke called for more effective economic cooperation across the Asia Pacific region. This led to the first meeting of APEC in Canberra, Australia in November, chaired by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Attended by political ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments for future annual meetings in Singapore and South Korea. Malaysia initially opposed APEC membership for countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and instead proposed the East Asia Economic Caucus, which would exclude countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The plan was opposed and strongly criticized by Japan and the United States. The first APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting occurred in 1993, when United States President Bill Clinton invited the heads of government from member economies to a summit on Blake Island, believing it would help bring the stalled Uruguay Round of trade talks on track. Member economies:
The current membership of APEC consists of 21 members, which includes most countries with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean. By convention, APEC uses the term member economy to refer to one of its members. Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, People's Republic of China, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam
Notes:
India has requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, Japan and Australia. Officials from the member economies are in the process of discussing whether to allow India to join. Guam has also been actively seeking a separate membership, citing the example of Hong Kong, but the request is opposed by the United States, which currently represents Guam. In addition to India, Mongolia, Laos, Colombia Ecuador are among a dozen countries seeking membership in APEC by 2008. Colombia applied for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but its bid was halted as the organization stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996, and the moratorium was further prolonged to 2007 due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

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Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation(BSEC)

On 25 June 1992, the Heads of State and Government of eleven countries signed in Istanbul the Summit Declaration and the Bosporus Statement giving birth to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). It came into existence as a unique and promising model of multilateral political and economic initiative aimed at fostering interaction and harmony among the Member States, as well as to ensure peace, stability and prosperity encouraging friendly and good-neighbourly relations in the Black Sea region. The BSEC Headquarters - the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) - was established in March 1994 in Istanbul. With the entry into force of its Charter on 1 May 1999, BSEC acquired international legal identity and was transformed into a full-fledged regional economic organization: Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. With the accession of Serbia and Montenegro in April 2004, the Organization’s Member States increased to twelve. The BSEC is also related to the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, an international financial institution based in Thessaloniki
Membership
Founding members are:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania,Russia, Turkey, Ukraine. Later members:
Serbia
Applicant states:
Cyprus, Montenegro.
Observer nations:
Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Tunisia, United States.
Later observers:
Austria, Egypt
Observer organizations are the:
International Black Sea Club, Energy Charter Secretariat, Black Sea Commission, European Commission.
The chairmanship is currently held by Turkey (May 2007 - January 2008)

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