Central American Integration System

Central American Integration System
  • Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (Spanish)
  • (SICA)
Flag of the Central American Integration System
Flag
Logo of the Central American Integration System
Logo
Motto: "Dios, unión y libertad" (Spanish)
"God, Union and Liberty"
Anthem: La Granadera
The Grenadier
States in the Central American Integration System.
States in the Central American Integration System.
Administrative centerEl Salvador San Salvador, El Salvador
Official languagesSpanish
TypeRegional organization
Membership8 states
11 regional observers
21 extraregional observers
Leaders
• President pro tempore
Johnny Briceño
• General Secretary
Werner Isaac Vargas Torres
LegislatureCentral American Parliament
Establishment
20 December 1907
• ODECA
14 October 1951
• CACM
13 December 1960
• SICA
13 December 1991
Area
• Total
572,510 km2 (221,050 sq mi)
Population
• 2009 estimate
51,152,936
• Density
89.34/km2 (231.4/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2010 estimate
• Total
$506.258 billion
• Per capita
$9,898.17
GDP (nominal)2010 estimate
• Total
$266.213 billion
• Per capita
$5,205.45
Website
sica.int

The Central American Integration System (Spanish: Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spanish: Organización de Estados Centroamericanos) signed the Protocol of Tegucigalpa, extending earlier cooperation for regional peace, political freedom, democracy and economic development. SICA's General Secretariat is in El Salvador.

In 1991, SICA's institutional framework included Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Belize joined in 1998 as a full member, while the Dominican Republic became an associated state in 2004 and a full member in 2013. Mexico, Chile and Brazil became part of the organization as regional observers, and the Republic of China, Spain, Germany, Georgia and Japan became extra-regional observers. SICA has a standing invitation to participate as observers in sessions of the United Nations General Assembly,[1] and maintains offices at UN Headquarters.[2]

Four countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua) experiencing political, cultural and migratory integration have formed a group, the Central America Four or CA-4, which has introduced common internal borders and the same type of passport. Belize, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic subsequently joined the CA-4 for economic integration.

  1. ^ "United Nations list of observing international organizations". un.org. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  2. ^ "El Sistema De La Integracion Centroamericana - New York". www.sgsica-ny.org. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2018.