Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the US Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While the status does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United States, it confers a variety of military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries. There are currently 19 major non-NATO allies across four continents (11 in Asia, three in Africa, three in South America, and two in Oceania). History MNNA status was first created in 1987 when section 2350a, otherwise known as the Sam Nunn Amendment, was added to Title 10 (Armed Forces) of the United States Code by Congress. It stipulated that cooperative research and development agreements could be enacted with non-NATO allies by the Secretary of Defense with the concurrence of the Secretary of State. The initial MNNAs were Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and South Korea. In 1996, major non-NATO allies received additional military and financial benefits when section 2321k was added to Title 22 (Foreign Relations) of the US Code (also known as section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961), which added MNNAs to many of the same exemptions from the Arms Export Control Act that were enjoyed by NATO members. It also authorized the President to designate a nation as an MNNA thirty days after notifying Congress. When enacted, the statute designated the initial five countries as major non-NATO allies, and added Jordan and New Zealand to the list. Argentina In 1998, President Bill Clinton named Argentina as an ally for the "Argentine compromise and contribution to international peace and security" materialized in its participation in the Gulf War (being the only South American country to do so), and for its continuing support of United Nations peacekeeping missions. Brazil In 2019, Donald Trump designated Brazil as a major non-NATO ally for the "Brazil’s recent commitments to increase defense cooperation with the United States" after receiving a working visit from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Colombia In March 2022, Joe Biden designated Colombia as a major non-NATO ally. Biden said: "I've said for a long time Colombia is a keystone to our shared efforts to build a hemisphere as prosperous, secure and democratic ... Today I'm proud to announce that I intend to designate Colombia a major non-NATO ally ... that's