MERCOSUR

The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) is the largest economic integration organization in the South American region and also the world's first common market composed entirely of developing countries. On March 26, 1991, the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay signed the Treaty of Asunción in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay (the treaty came into effect on November 29 of the same year), declaring the establishment of the Southern Common Market. Subsequently, Mercosur successively accepted Chile (October 1996), Bolivia (1997), Peru (2003), Ecuador (December 2004), and Colombia (December 2004) as associate members. The organization's purpose is to promote technological progress among its member states and ultimately achieve economic and political integration by effectively utilizing resources, protecting the environment, coordinating macroeconomic policies, and strengthening economic complementarity.