Economic Community of Central African States

The Economic Community of Central African States is a regional economic bloc that promotes economic cooperation in Central Africa and functions as a pillar of the African Union's African Economic Community framework. It was founded on October 18, 1983, and its ten members are Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and Sao Tome and Principe. Its stated aims are collective autonomy, a higher standard of living for its members' populations and economic stability through cooperation, with an eventual Central African Common Market as its long term goal, alongside priorities in peace and security, economic and monetary integration and human development.