C
Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom)
established - 4 July 1973; effective - 1 August 1973 aim - to promote economic integration and development, especially among the less developed countries members - (15) Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago associate members - (5) Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands observers - (7) Aruba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Venezuela
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
established - 18 October 1969; effective - 26 January 1970 aim - to
promote economic development and cooperation regional members - (21)
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British
Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana,
Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos
Islands, Venezuela nonregional members - (5) Canada, China, Germany,
Italy, UK
Central African Customs and Economic Union (UDEAC)
see Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)
Central African States Development Bank (BDEAC)
note - acronym from Banque de Developpement des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale established - 3 December 1975 aim - to provide loans for economic development members - (10) African Development Bank (AfDB), Cameroon, Central African States Bank (BEAC), Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Kuwait
Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE)
note - acronym from Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economico established - 13 December 1960 signature of Articles of Agreement; 31 May 1961 began operations aim - to promote economic integration and development members - (5) Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua nonregional members - (7) Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Taiwan
Central American Common Market (CACM)
established - 13 December 1960, collapsed in 1969, reinstated in 1991 aim - to promote establishment of a Central American Common Market members - (5) Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua; note - Panama, although not a member, pursues full regional cooperation
Central American Integration System (SICA)
established - 13 December 1991; operational 1 February 1993 aim - to strengthen democracy; to set up a new model of regional security; to promote freedom; to achieve a regional system of welfare and economic and social justice; to attain economic unity and strengthen the area as an economic bloc; to act as a bloc in international matters members - (7) Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama associated member - (1) Dominican Republic observers - (8) Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain
Central European Initiative (CEI)
note - evolved from the Quadrilateral Initiative and the Hexagonal Initiative established - 11 November 1989 as the Quadrilateral Initiative, 27 July 1991 became the Hexagonal Initiative, July 1992 its present name was adopted aim - to form an economic and political cooperation group for the region between the Adriatic and the Baltic Seas members - (18) Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine
centrally planned economies
a term applied mainly to the traditionally Communist states that looked to the former USSR for leadership; most are now evolving toward more democratic and market-oriented systems; also known formerly as the Second World or as the Communist countries; through the 1980s, this group included Albania, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, North Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, USSR, Vietnam, Yugoslavia
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
established - 7 October 2002 aim - to coordinate military and political cooperation, to develop multilateral structures and mechanisms of cooperation for ensuring national security of the member states members - (7) Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Colombo Plan (CP)
established - May 1950 proposal was adopted; 1 July 1951 commenced full operations aim - to promote economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific members - (25) Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, NZ, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, US, Vietnam
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
note - formerly known as Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA) established - 5 November 1993 aim - recognizing, promoting and protecting fundamental human rights, commitment to the principles of liberty and rule of law, maintaining peace and stability through the promotion and strengthening of good neighborliness, commitment to peaceful settlement of disputes among member states members - (19) Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Commonwealth (C)
note - also known as Commonwealth of Nations established - 31 December 1931 aim - to foster multinational cooperation and assistance, as a voluntary association that evolved from the British Empire members - (53) Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji (suspended), The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, NZ, Nigeria, Pakistan (reinstated 2004), Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, UK, Vanuatu, Zambia; note - on 7 December 2003 Zimbabwe withdrew its membership from the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
established - 8 December 1991; effective - 21 December 1991 aim - to coordinate intercommonwealth relations and to provide a mechanism for the orderly dissolution of the USSR members - (12) Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Communist countries
traditionally the Marxist-Leninist states with authoritarian governments and command economies based on the Soviet model; most of the original and the successor states are no longer Communist; see centrally planned economies
Comuinidade dos Paises de Lingua Portuguesa (CPLP)
established - 1996 aim - to establish a forum for friendship among Portuguese-speaking nations where Portuguese is an official language members - (8) Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste associate observers - (3) Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Senegal
Coordinating Committee on Export Controls (COCOM)
established in 1949 to control the export of strategic products and technical data from member countries to proscribed destinations; members were: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, UK, US; abolished 31 March 1994; COCOM members established a new organization, the Wassenaar Arrangement, with expanded membership on 12 July 1996 that focuses on nonproliferation export controls as opposed to East-West control of advanced technology
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA)
note - also known as CMEA or Comecon established 25 January 1949 to promote the development of socialist economies and abolished 1 January 1991; members included Afghanistan (observer), Albania (had not participated since 1961 break with USSR), Angola (observer), Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia (observer), GDR, Hungary, Laos (observer), Mongolia, Mozambique (observer), Nicaragua (observer), Poland, Romania, USSR, Vietnam, Yemen (observer), Yugoslavia (associate)
Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU)
established - 3 June 1957; effective - 30 May 1964 aim - to promote economic integration among Arab nations members - (10 plus the Palestine Liberation Organization) Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Palestine Liberation Organization
Council of Europe (CE)
established - 5 May 1949; effective - 3 August 1949 aim - to promote
increased unity and quality of life in Europe members - (47) Albania,
Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta,
Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK observers - (5) Canada, Holy See,
Japan, Mexico, US
Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)
established - 6 March 1992 aim - to promote cooperation among the Baltic Sea states in the areas of aid to new democratic institutions, economic development, humanitarian aid, energy and the environment, cultural programs and education, and transportation and communication members - (12) Denmark, Estonia, EC, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden observers - (7) France, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Ukraine, UK, US
Council of the Entente (Entente)
established - 29 May 1959 aim - to promote economic, social, and political coordination members - (5) Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo
countries in transition
a term used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the middle group in its hierarchy of advanced economies, countries in transition, and developing countries; IMF statistics include the following 28 countries in transition: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan; note - this group is identical to the group traditionally referred to as the "former USSR/Eastern Europe" except for the addition of Mongolia
Customs Cooperation Council (CCC)
note - see World Customs Organization (WCO)