[3] Although in recent years, the Centrist Democrat International has expanded its presence in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

In 1999, it was renamed the Centrist Democrat International due to the participation of groups from other religions such as the Islamic National Awakening Party (PKB) of Indonesia.

The September 2001 leadership conference in Mexico City changed the organization's name to Centrist Democrat International, retaining its original CDI acronym.

References to religion were not allowed in many Asian and African countries, and the IDC-CDI would not have been able to extend into Asia and Africa without a name change.

The president is Andrés Pastrana Arango of Colombia and the Secretary-General is MEP Antonio López-Istúriz of Spain.