Colombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is quite open, relying on international trade and following guidelines given by international law.
The Free Trade Area of the Americas was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas, excluding Cuba. Negotiations to establish the FTAA ended in failure, however, with all parties unable to reach an agreement by the 2005 deadline they had set for themselves.
The Andean Community is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1996 and came into existence when the Cartagena Agreement was signed in 1969. Its headquarters are in Lima, Peru.
The Rio Group (G-Rio) was a permanent association of political consultation of Latin America and Caribbean countries, created in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 18, 1986 with the purpose of creating a better political relationship among the countries. It was succeeded in 2011 by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
Andean Group is a trade organization in Lima, Peru. In 1969, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru established the group by the Treaty of Cartagena. In 1973, Venezuela joined. Chile quit in 1976, as did Peru in 1992. The group created a free trade area called the Andean Pact in 1992.
The Union of South American Nations (USAN), sometimes also referred to as the South American Union, abbreviated in Spanish as UNASUR and in Portuguese as UNASUL, is an intergovernmental regional organization. It once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn. It was set up by Hugo Chavez to counteract the influence of the United States in the region.
The Latin American Free Trade Association, LAFTA, was created in the 1960 Treaty of Montevideo by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The signatories hoped to create a common market in Latin America and offered tariff rebates among member nations. In 1980, LAFTA reorganized into the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) which now has 13 members: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) is a regional, permanent organization composed by the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a consultative assembly similar to the early European Parliament. Currently the institution is being considered to become the legislative organ of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
The Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System, officially known as Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe (SELA), is an organization founded in 1975 to promote economic cooperation and social development between Latin American and the Caribbean countries. In the early 1990s, its representatives consisted of members from 28 countries and took part in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations, which led to a new global agreement on restrictions on trade and established the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Treaty of Asunción was a treaty between the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay signed on March 26, 1991. The objective of the treaty, signed in Asunción, was to establish a common market among the participating countries, popularly called Mercosur. Later, the Treaty of Ouro Preto was signed to supplement the first treaty, establishing that the Treaty of Asunción was to be a legally and internationally recognized organization.
The Bolivarian Games are a regional multi-sport event held in honor of Simón Bolívar, and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization. The event is open to athletes from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. In 2010, the ODEBO decided to include Chile as the seventh member of ODEBO. Except Panama, all other participating countries are Andean states.
The Mercosur Parliament, known also as Parlasur, or Parlasul, is the parliamentary institution of the Mercosur trade bloc. It is composed of 81 MPs, 18 from each member states of the bloc – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – and 9 from applying member Venezuela. Associate members – Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – may also hold seats in the Parliament, but with no voting powers.
Relations between the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Colombia were established on May 8, 1825. Originally, the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance was established with the State of Buenos Aires, within the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. Argentina is a member of Mercosur whilst Colombia is an associate member. Both countries are members of the Organization of American States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Latin American Integration Association and Organization of Ibero-American States.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South America.
The South American Parliament is a proposed body of the Union of South American Nations (USAN).
CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, formerly the Andean Development Corporation, is a Caracas based development bank whose mission is to promote sustainable development and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean, through the financing of projects of the public and private sectors, the provision of technical cooperation and other specialized services.
The integration of Latin America has a history going back to Spanish American and Brazilian independence, when there was discussion of creating a regional state or confederation of Latin American nations to protect the area's newly won autonomy. After several projects failed, the issue was not taken up again until the late 19th century, but now centered on the issue of international trade and with a sense of Pan-Americanism, owing to the United States of America taking a leading role in the project. The idea of granting these organizations a primarily political purpose did not become prominent again until the post-World War II period, which saw both the start of the Cold War and a climate of international cooperation that led to the creation of institutions such as the United Nations. It would not be until the mid-20th century that uniquely Latin American organizations were created.
The foreign policy of the Ollanta Humala concerns the policy initiatives made towards other states by the former President of Peru, in difference to past, or future, Peruvian foreign policy as represented by his Foreign Minister Rafael Roncagliolo. Humala's foreign policy was based on relations with other states of the Americas.
The Bolivarian countries are six Hispanic American countries whose republican origin is attributed to the ideals of Simón Bolívar and the independence war led by the Venezuelan military in the viceroyalties of New Granada and Peru.
The Court of Justice of the Andean Community was founded in 1979 by the Cartagena Agreement and began operating in January 1984 in Quito, Ecuador; it was originally known as the Andean Pact.
