Foreign relations of the Comoros
Template:Short description Template:Politics of Comoros In November 1975, Comoros became the 143rd member of the United Nations. The new nation was defined as consisting of the entire archipelago, despite the fact that France maintains control over Mayotte.
Overview
[edit]Comoros also is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the European Development Fund, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Indian Ocean Commission, and the African Development Bank.
The government fostered close relationships with the more conservative (and oil-rich) Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.<ref name=cs/> It frequently received aid from those countries and the regional financial institutions they influenced, such as the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.<ref name=cs/> In October 1993, Comoros joined the League of Arab States, after having been rejected when it applied for membership initially in 1977.<ref name=cs/>
Regional relations generally were good.<ref name=cs/> In 1985 Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles agreed to admit Comoros as the fourth member of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), an organization established in 1982 to encourage regional cooperation.<ref name=cs/> In 1993 Mauritius and Seychelles had two of the five embassies in Moroni, and Mauritius and Madagascar were connected to the republic by regularly scheduled commercial flights.<ref name=cs/>
In November 1975, Comoros became the 143d member of the UN. In the 1990s, the republic continued to represent Mahoré in the UN.<ref name=cs/> Comoros was also a member of the OAU, the EDF, the World Bank, the IMF, the IOC, and the African Development Bank.<ref name=cs/>
Comoros thus cultivated relations with various nations, both East and West, seeking to increase trade and obtain financial assistance.<ref name=cs/> In 1994, however, it was increasingly facing the need to control its expenditures and reorganize its economy so that it would be viewed as a sounder recipient of investment.<ref name=cs/> Comoros also confronted domestically the problem of the degree of democracy the government was prepared to grant to its citizens, a consideration that related to its standing in the world community.<ref name=cs/>
Diplomatic relations
[edit]List of countries which the Comoros maintains diplomatic relations with:
Bilateral relations
[edit]| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Flag | 15 November 1976 |
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| Template:Flag | 13 November 1975 | See China–Comoros relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 November 1975<ref name="Comoros"/> Comoros also hosted an embassy of China, which established relations during the Soilih regime.<ref name=cs/> The Chinese had long been a source of aid and apparently wished to maintain contact with Comoros to counterbalance Indian and Soviet (later Russian) influence in the Indian Ocean.<ref name=cs/> In August 2008, a Comorian delegation visited China on a good-will visit. Together with the Chinese defense minister Liang Guanglie, and Chief of Staff of the Comoros armed forces Salimou Mohamed Amiri, pledged to increase cooperation between the military of the two nations. Amiri stated that Comoros will continue to adhere to the One-China policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A comprehensive Chinese-assisted treatment campaign has apparently eliminated malaria from the Comorian island of Moheli (population 36,000). Administered by Li Guoqiao at the Tropical Medicine Institute, the program relies on hybrid Artemisia annua of hybrid ancestry, which was used for a drug regimen by which all residents of the island, whether or not visibly ill, took two doses at a 40-day interval. This eliminated the human reservoir of the disease and reduced hospital admissions to 1% or less of January 2008 levels. Visitors to Moheli are now required to take antimalarial drugs, a mix of artemisinin, primaquine and pyrimethamine that China provides for free. When asked about Artemisia exports, Li was quoted, "We want to grow them in China and whatever we export depends on bilateral relationships." Comoros has requested a similar program for Grande Comore and Anjouan, total population 760,000, and Li said that Beijing has agreed in principle.<ref>Africa: Ending Malaria in Sight? AfricaFocus Bulletin, africafocus@igc.org, 2009-11-30.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Template:Flag | The countries maintain diplomatic relations and Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi visited Comoros in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Template:Flag |
Cyprus is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Pretoria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | 1 December 1981<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
Denmark is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 19 December 1977 |
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 19 December 1977<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Comoros is represented in Finland by its embassy in Paris, France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 1 July 1978 | See France–Comoros relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 July 1978<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Comoros' most significant international relationship is that with France.<ref name="cs">Template:Cite web</ref> The three years of estrangement following the unilateral declaration of independence and the nationalistic Soilih regime were followed during the conservative Abdallah and Djohar regimes by a period of growing trade, aid, cultural, and defense links between the former colony and France, punctuated by frequent visits to Paris by the head of state and occasional visits by the French president to Moroni.<ref name=cs/> The leading military power in the region, France has detachments on Mahoré and Réunion, and its Indian Ocean fleet sails the waters around the islands.<ref name=cs/> France and Comoros signed a mutual security treaty in 1978; following the mercenary coup against Abdallah in 1989, French troops restored order and took responsibility for reorganizing and training the Comorian army.<ref name=cs/> With Mahoré continuing to gravitate politically and economically toward France, and Comoros increasingly dependent on the French for help with its own considerable social, political, and economic problems, the issue of Mahoré diminished somewhat in urgency.<ref name=cs/> Comoros claims French-administered Mayotte & the Glorioso Islands. |
| Template:Flag | 4 June 1976 | See Comoros–India relations
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| Template:Flag | 23 June 1983 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 23 June 1983<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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| Template:Flag | 24 October 2018 |
Ireland is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 1 November 1976 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 November 1976<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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| Template:Flag | 14 November 1977<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
Comorian relations with Japan were also significant because Japan was the second largest provider of aid, consisting of funding for fisheries, food, and highway development.<ref name=cs/> |
| Template:Flag | 1 April 1976 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 April 1976<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 2000 | Both countries established diplomatic relations in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 13 October 2008 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 October 2008<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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| Template:Flag | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations and signed 11 agreements in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | 21 February 1977 |
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| Template:Flag | The two countries maintain cordial relations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | See Comoros–North Korea relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on November 13, 1975.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | See Comoros–Qatar relations
Comoros severed the diplomatic relations with Qatar in June 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Comoros.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Template:Flag | 24 November 1976 |
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 24 November 1976.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Serbia is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 14 May 1993 |
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 May 1993<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The close relationship Comoros developed with South Africa in the 1980s was much less significant to both countries in the 1990s.<ref name="cs" /> With the reform of its apartheid government, South Africa no longer needed Comoros as evidence of its ostensible ability to enjoy good relations with a black African state; the end of the Cold War had also diminished Comoros' strategic value to Pretoria.<ref name="cs" /> Although South Africa continued to provide developmental aid, it closed its consulate in Moroni in 1992.<ref name="cs" /> Since the 1989 coup and subsequent expulsion of South African-financed mercenaries, Comoros likewise turned away from South Africa and toward France for assistance with its security needs.<ref name="cs" /> |
| Template:Flag | 22 August 1979<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | See Comoros–Turkey relations
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| Template:Flag | 23 July 1993 |
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| Template:Flag | 3 October 1977 |
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 October 1977.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Great-Britain is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Flag | 15 August 1977 | See Comoros–United States relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 August 1977.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The American Embassy at Moroni was established on August 26, 1985, with Edward Brynn as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The American Embassy at Moroni was closed on September 30, 1993. Subsequent American Ambassadors to Comoros also have been accredited to Mauritius, and resident at Port Louis. On March 6, 2006, responsibilities for Comoros were transferred from Embassy Port Louis to Embassy Antananarivo. The two countries enjoy friendly relations.<ref name="cs" /> The historic under-commitment by the US within France's sphere of interest in the Indian Ocean looks set to continue after a November 2009 meeting between heads of state.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Future friendly relations continue to look promising between the Comoros and America. |
| Template:Flag | 21 May 2005 |
|
| Template:Flag | 6 January 1985 |
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 6 January 1985<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Yemen and Comoros Ministry of Fishery and Environment signed a "Memo of Understanding" (MOU) concerning agricultural cooperation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Template:Foreign relations of Comoros Template:Comoros topics Template:Africa in topic