Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, Uganda, UAE, 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 - (28) Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, 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

** 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 - (23) 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, Panamerican Health Organization, 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 les