Rio Group facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rio Group

Successor	Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
Established	1986
Dissolved	2011
Membership	24 Latin American and Caribbean states

The Rio Group (G-Rio) was a special club for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was created in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 18, 1986. The main goal was to help these countries work better together.

This group was a place for leaders to talk and solve problems. It helped build stronger friendships among the nations. In 2011, the Rio Group was replaced by a new organization called the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

The first countries to join were Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. These countries were already part of two other groups: the Contadora Group and the Contadora Support Group. Together, these earlier groups were sometimes called the Group of Eight.

In 1983, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela started a plan to bring peace to Central America. They signed an agreement called the Contadora Act for Peace and Cooperation in Central America. This agreement aimed to stop conflicts, control arms, and help the region's economy grow.

What the Rio Group Wanted to Do

The Rio Group had several important goals:

• Help governments of member countries work together on political issues.
• Look at and try to solve international problems.
• Make Latin American organizations work better and coordinate their efforts.
• Find solutions for issues that affected the whole region.
• Improve relationships between countries in North and South America.
• Find new ways to cooperate in areas like economy, society, science, and technology.

Countries That Were Members

Over time, more countries joined the Rio Group. By 2010, it had 23 member countries and one representative from the Eastern Caribbean.

Here are the countries that were members:

Important Meetings of the Rio Group

The Rio Group held many important meetings where leaders discussed regional issues. These meetings were called summits.

Summit	Year	City	Host Country
I	1987	Acapulco	Mexico
II	1988	Montevideo	Uruguay
III	1989	Ica	Peru
IV	1990	Caracas	Venezuela
V	1991	Cartagena	Colombia
VI	1992	Buenos Aires	Argentina
VII	1993	Santiago	Chile
VIII	1994	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil
IX	1995	Quito	Ecuador
X	1996	Cochabamba	Bolivia
XI	1997	Asunción	Paraguay
XII	1998	Panama City	Panama
XIII	1999	Veracruz	Mexico
XIV	2000	Cartagena	Colombia
XV	2001	Santiago	Chile
XVI	2002	San José	Costa Rica
XVII	2003	Cusco	Peru
XVIII	2004	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil
XIX	2007	Georgetown	Guyana
XX	2008	Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic
I Extraordinaria	2009	Zacatecas	Mexico
II Extraordinaria	2009	Managua	Nicaragua
XXI	2010	Cancún	Mexico

Meetings with the European Union

The Rio Group also had regular meetings with the European Union. These meetings helped Latin American and European countries work together. They started this special conversation in 1990 with something called the Rome Declaration.

Rio Group Ministers Discuss Important Issues

In 2004, foreign ministers from the Rio Group met in Brasilia, Brazil. They talked about many things, including the situation in Haiti. They also prepared for their 18th big summit.

During this meeting, Celso Amorim, who was Brazil's foreign minister, spoke. He mentioned that Brazilian soldiers were helping with the United Nations mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). He also talked about bringing South and Latin American countries closer. Amorim believed the Rio Group could help Cuba rejoin the Latin American family.

He said that the Rio Group had become good at handling new topics, especially about money and working together. He saw it as an important way for countries to talk to each other. At the summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2004, the group also discussed how globalization was affecting Latin American countries.

The Cancun Summit and Changes to the Rio Group

At a meeting of presidents from Latin America and the Caribbean in Cancun, Mexico, leaders talked about updating the Rio Group. This meeting was important because it led to big changes.

The Rio Group, which started with eight countries in 1986, had grown to include 23 countries and a representative from the Eastern Caribbean by 2010. One of its best features was that it was the only place where all 33 countries of "America" could meet and talk about politics and diplomacy. This ability to bring everyone together was a key strength of the Rio Group.

See also

• Organization of American States
• Union of South American Nations
• Organization of Ibero-American States
• Ibero-American Summit
• Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance