A regional economic grouping comprising Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador; Chile withdrew in 1976 and Venezuela in 2006. Formally established by the Cartagena Agreement of 1969—hence its official name, Acuerdo de Cartagena—it was an attempt to enhance the competitive edge of the member states in their economic relations with the more developed economies of the Latin American region. A customs union was established in 1995, a free trade area was completed in 2006, and the Community operates a common foreign policy in many areas. In 2004 the Andean Community concluded a cooperation agreement with Mercosur that aimed to merge the two organizations into a South American Community of Nations. As a result, the members of Mercosur—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—became associate members of the Andean Community, as did Chile in 2006.