Founding Observers
Observers are entitled to participate, with the right to speak and without the right to vote, in the open meetings of the Ministerial Council when invited by the Ministerial Council. The Observers are also entitled to speak in the open sessions of the Special Committees to discuss projects and initiatives in which they have a substantial interest, taking into consideration the terms of the Framework Agreement established between the Association and the respective Observer.
Observers are invited to participate actively in international cooperation conferences convened by the Association, as well as other specific meetings devoted to those purposes.
Within the ACS membership, there are three categories of observers: Founding Observers, Observer Countries, and Observer Organisations.
The list of Founding Observers is as follows:
Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM), Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Central American Integration System (SICA), Latin American Economic System (SELA), Permanent Secretariat for the General Agreement on Central American Economic Integration (SEICA), United Nations Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC).
The list of Observer Countries is as follows:
Argentina, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kingdom of Netherlands, Korea, Morocco, Palestine, Peru, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, State of Kuwait, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom, Uruguay.
The list of Observer Organisations is as follows:
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Central American Economic Integration Bank (CABEI), European Union, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Italian-Latin American International Organization (IILA), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).