aim - to raise living standards and increase availability of
agricultural products; a UN specialized agency
members - (184) Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The
Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina
Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central
African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica,
Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador,
Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, EC, Fiji, Finland,
France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada,
Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary,
Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica,
Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea,
Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, NZ, Nicaragua, Niger,
Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda,
Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia
and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon
Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand,
Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Uganda, UAE, UK, US, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam,
Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
former Soviet Union (FSU): former term often used to identify as a
group the successor nations to the Soviet Union or USSR; this group of
15 countries consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
former USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE): the middle group in the
hierarchy of developed countries (DCs), former USSR/Eastern Europe
(former USSR/EE), and less developed countries (LDCs); these countries
are in political and economic transition and may well be grouped
differently in the near future; this group of 27 countries consists of
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia; this group
is identical to the IMF group "countries in transition" except for the
IMF's inclusion of Mongolia
Four Dragons: the four small Asian less developed countries (LDCs)
that have experienced unusually rapid economic growth; also known as
the Four Tigers; this group consists of Hong Kong, South Korea,
Singapore, Taiwan; these countries are included in the IMF's "advanced
economies" group
Franc Zone (FZ): note - also known as Conference des Ministres des
Finances des Pays de la Zone Franc
established - NA 1964
aim - to form a monetary union among countries whose currencies are
linked to the French franc
members - (15) Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo; note - France's three
overseas territories, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and
Futuna, use the Comptoires Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF)
Front Line States (FLS): established to achieve black majority rule in
South Africa; has since gone out of existence; members included Angola,
Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): see the World Trade
Organization (WTrO)
Group of 2 (G-2): informal term that came into use about 1986; to
facilitate bilateral economic cooperation between the two most powerful
economic giants; members were Japan, US