ACC
Arab Cooperation Council
1989
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen
ACP
African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries
1976
70 developing countries
ACS
Association of Caribbean States
1994
24 Caribbean countries
ADB
Asian Development Bank
1966
39 Asian-Pacific countries and territories, 16 nonregional countries
AfDB
African Development Bank
1963
52 African countries, 24 non-African countries
AFESD
Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
1968
20 Arab countries and the <ABBR>plo</ABBR>
AL
Arab League
1945
21 Arab countries and the <ABBR>plo</ABBR>
ALADI
Latin American Integration Association
1960
11 South American countries
Amazon Pact
1978
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
AMF
Arab Monetary Fund
1977
19 countries and the <ABBR>plo</ABBR>
AMU
Arab Maghreb Union
Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia
ANZUS
Australia-New Zealand-United States Security Treaty
1951
Australia, New Zealand, United States
AP
Andean Pact (Acuerdo de Cartegena)
1969
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
APEC
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
18 Pacific Rim countries
ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
1967
Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
BADEA
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa
1974
17 Arab countries and the <ABBR>plo</ABBR>
BDEAC
Central African States Development Bank
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Germany, Kuwait
Benelux
Benelux Economic Union
1958
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands
BOAD
West African Development Bank
1973
Benin, Burkina, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo
BSEC
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Group
1992
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine
CACM
Central American Common Market
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
CAEU
Council of Arab Economic Unity
1964
11 Arab countries and the <ABBR>plo</ABBR>
CARICOM
Caribbean Community and Common Market
13 Caribbean countries and Montserrat
CBSS
Council of the Baltic Sea States
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden
CDB
Caribbean Development Bank
20 Caribbean countries, 5 non-Caribbean countries
CE
Council of Europe
1949
40 European countries
CEEAC
Economic Community of Central African States
1983
10 Central African countries
CEFTA
Central European Free Trade Agreement
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia
CEI
Central European Initiative
1991
Austria, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia
CEMAC
Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa
6 Central African members of the franc zone
CEPGL
Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries
Burundi, Rwanda, Congo (Zaire)
CERN
European Organization for Nuclear Research
1953
23 European countries
CILSS
Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel
9 African countries in the Sahel region
CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
COMESA
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
1993
24 African countries
Comm
Commonwealth
1931
53 countries (chiefly former members of the British Empire; Nigeria was suspended in 1995, Fiji was readmitted in 1997)
CP
Colombo Plan
Australia, Japan, New Zealand, USA (donors) and 20 Asia-Pacific countries
Damascus Declaration
Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE
EBRD
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
58 countries
ECO
Economic Cooperation Organization
1985
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
ECOWAS
Economic Community  of West African States
1975
16 West African countries
EEA
European Economic Area
The 15 members of the EU, and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (all the members of EFTA except Switzerland)
EFTA
European Free Trade Association
Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
ESA
European Space Agency
14 European countries
EU
European Union
15 European countries
Francophone
Francophone states
Not applicable
A loose grouping of 25 French-speaking African countries (including French external territories) and France
FZ
Franc zone
15 African states, France and Monaco
G 10
Group of 10
1962
Now 11 members; G7 members, plus Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland
G 15
Group of 15
15 developing countries
G 24
Group of 24
The 24 countries within the IMF which represent the interests of developing countries
G3
Group of 3
1987
Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela
G5
Group of 5
Finance ministers of France, Germany, Japan, UK, USA
G7
Group of 7
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA
GCC
Gulf Cooperation Council
1981
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE
Geplacea
Latin American and Caribbean Sugar Exporting Countries
23 countries
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
1957
126 countries
IBRD
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (also known as the World Bank)
180 countries
IDB
Islamic Development Bank
47 countries and the <ABBR>plo</ABBR>
IGADD
Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development
1986
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda
IOC
Indian Ocean Commission
1982
Comoros, France (representing Réunion), Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles
IWC
International Whaling Commission
1946
40 countries
LCBC
Lake Chad Basin Commission
Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Niger, Nigeria
Lusophone
Lusophone states
A loose grouping of 5 Portugese-speaking African countries (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, S&atilde;o Tome & Príncipe) and Portugal
Mekong River Commission
1995
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam
MERCOSUR
Southern Common Market
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
MRU
Mano River Union
Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone
NACC
North Atlantic Cooperation Council
36 countries (members of <ABBR>nato</ABBR> and former members of Warsaw Pact)
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
Canada, Mexico, USA
NAM
Non-Aligned Movement
1961
111 countries
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
16 countries
NC
Nordic Council
1952
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
Not UN
Not a member of the UN
OAPEC
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE
OAS
Organization of American States
1948
34 American countries
OAU
Organization of African Unity
53 African countries
OECD
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
29 industrialized democracies
OECS
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
OIC
Organization of the Islamic Conference
1971
53 Islamic countries
OMVG
Gambia River Development Organization
The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal
Opanal
Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
26 countries
OPEC
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela
OSCE
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
1972
53 countries
Partnerships for Peace (PfP)
see NATO
RG
Rio Group
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
SAARC
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
SACU
Southern African Customs Union
5 countries
SADC
Southern African Development Community
Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
San José Group
1988
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
SELA
Latin American Economic System
27 countries
SPC
South Pacific Commission
28 countries and territories
SPF
South Pacific Forum
15 countries and territories
UEMOA
West African Economic and Monetary Union
7 countries
UN
United Nations
184 countries; permanent members of the Security Council - China, France, Russia, UK, USA
WEU
Western European Union
1954
10 countries
WTO
World Trade Organization
131 countries