Editing Foreign relations of Malawi (section)

==Bilateral Relations==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"
|-
! style="width:15%;" | Country
! style="width:12%;" | Formal Relations Began
!Notes
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Australia}}||1 July 1983||
*Australia is represented in Malawi by its embassy in [[Harare]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dfat.gov.au/geo/malawi/Pages/malawi.aspx|title=Malawi|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|access-date=30 December 2018|archive-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211115422/https://dfat.gov.au/geo/malawi/Pages/malawi.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> 
*Both countries are full members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. 
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Botswana}}||1 July 1967||
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 July 1967 when first High Commissioner of Botswana Mr. H. Mannathoko presented his credentials to President of Malawi.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Report |publisher=Malawi. Police Force |year=1968 |pages=2}}</ref>

Both countries are full members of the [[Southern African Development Community]], [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]].
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Canada}}||12 February 1974||
*Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 February 1974<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=International Perspectives |publisher=Canada. Department of External Affairs, Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. |year=1974 |pages=77}}</ref>
*Both countries are full members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|China}}||28 December 2007||
Hastings Banda recognized the [[Republic of China]] ([[Taiwan]]) in 1967. In January 2008, Malawi switched this recognition to the People's Republic of China.[http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3260D66F-9692-4C62-8006-5C06AAC3175D.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129015803/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3260D66F-9692-4C62-8006-5C06AAC3175D.htm |date=29 January 2008 }}

Since 2008 there has been a significant shift by the Malawian government towards accepting investment from China.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/may/07/china-puts-mark-malawi-presence |title=China puts its mark on Malawi &#124; Global development |work=The Guardian |date=7 May 2011 |location=London |access-date=14 December 2016 |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513043122/http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/may/07/china-puts-mark-malawi-presence |url-status=live }}</ref> Potentially this may be part of a wider power struggle between the East and West in Africa.<ref>{{cite news|last=Glennie |first=Jonathan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-cables-china-aid-africa |title=WikiLeaks cables: China's aid to Africa has strings attached |work=The Guardian |date=2010-12-10 }}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Greece}}||30 April 1970||
*Greece is represented in Malawi by its embassy in [[Harare]], [[Zimbabwe]].<ref name="mfa.gr">{{cite web|url=https://www.mfa.gr/en/blog/greece-bilateral-relations/malawi/|title=Greece's Bilateral Relations|website=mfa.gr|access-date=30 December 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613040712/https://www.mfa.gr/en/blog/greece-bilateral-relations/malawi/|url-status=live}}</ref> 
*Malawi is represented in Greece by its embassy in [[Brussels]], Belgium.<ref name="mfa.gr" />
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|India}}||19 October 1964||See [[India–Malawi relations]] 
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 19 October 1964 when has been accredited Acting High Commissioner of India to Malawi Mr. Dileep S. Kamtekar.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Diplomatic and Consular List Issue 3 |publisher=Malawi. Ministry of External Affairs |year=1967 |pages=1}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Iran}}
|5 April 1971
|Both countries established diplomatic relations on 5 April 1971.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Iran Almanac and Book of Facts |publisher=Echo of Iran |year=1973 |pages=161}}</ref> But diplomatic relations were severed on 11 February 1979 and re-established on 18 February 1996.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |title=Defense & Foreign Affairs Handbook |publisher=Perth Corporation |year=2002 |pages=1088}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Israel}}||15 July 1964||See [[Foreign relations of Israel|Israel–Malawi relations]]
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Mexico}}||10 December 1998||
* Malawi is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.<ref>{{cite web |author=Embassy of the Republic of Malawi in the United States |url=http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/ |title=Embassy of Malawi in the United States |publisher=Malawiembassy-dc.org |date=2018-04-28 |access-date=2018-12-30 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205121034/http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Mexico is accredited to Malawi from its embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/sudafrica/ |title=Embassy of Mexico in South Africa |publisher=Embamex.sre.gob.mx |access-date=2018-12-30 |archive-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504120721/https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/sudafrica/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Mozambique}}||1 July 1981||See [[Malawi–Mozambique relations]]
Between 1985 and 1995, Malawi accommodated more than a million refugees from [[Mozambique]]. The refugee crisis placed a substantial strain on Malawi's economy but also drew significant inflows of international assistance. The accommodation and eventual repatriation of the Mozambicans is considered a major success by international organizations.
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Philippines}}||3 May 2001||
Neither country has an embassy in each other's territories. The Philippines's embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, is accredited to Malawi; on the other hand, Malawi's embassy in Tokyo, Japan, is accredited to the Philippines.

As of 25 May 2018, the date of presentation of credentials of Philippine non-resident ambassador Uriel Norman Garibay to President Arthur Peter Mutharika, there are 41 Filipino nationals residing in Malawi, mainly in Blantyre and Lilongwe.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/news-from-our-foreign-service-postsupdate/16762-ph-seeks-to-establish-closer-ties-with-malawi| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210627143430/https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/news-from-our-foreign-service-postsupdate/16762-ph-seeks-to-establish-closer-ties-with-malawi| url-status = dead| archive-date = 27 June 2021| title = PH Seeks to Establish Closer Ties with Malawi}}</ref> 
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Poland}}||10 July 1992||See [[Foreign relations of Poland|Malawi–Poland relations]]
|-
|{{Flag|Qatar}}
|26 September 2012
|Both countries established diplomatic relations on 26 September 2012 when Ambassador of Malawi to Qatar (resident in Kuwait City) Mr. Yunis Abdul Karim has presented his credentials.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=27 September 2012 |title=نائبالأميريتسلمأوراقاعتماد٨سفراءجدد |url=https://assets.raya.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/09105225/148FDF92-3CEE-48FF-9D1B-8F30D8E75822.pdf |access-date=22 August 2023 |page=12 |language=ar |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822141123/https://assets.raya.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/09105225/148FDF92-3CEE-48FF-9D1B-8F30D8E75822.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Rwanda}}||26 June 2001||
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 26 June 2001 when accredited first Ambassador of Rwanda to Malawi (resident in Dar es Salaam) Mr.  Zephyr Mutanguha<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |title=Diplomatic and Consular Directory, Issue 33 |publisher=Malawi. Ministry of External Affairs, Malawi. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation |year=2002 |pages=18}}</ref>

In 1996, Malawi received a number of Rwandan and Congolese refugees seeking asylum. The government did not turn away refugees, but it did invoke the principle of "first country of asylum." Under this principle, refugees who requested asylum in another country first, or who had the opportunity to do so would not subsequently be granted asylum in Malawi. There were no reports of the forcible repatriation of refugees.
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|South Africa}}||10 September 1967||See [[Malawi–South Africa relations]]

The colonial structures of Malawian labour export to South African mines continued after Malawi achieved independence in 1964. Led by dictator [[Hastings Banda]], Malawi was the only African country to maintain close relations with White-ruled South Africa until the 1994 election of [[Nelson Mandela]]. Malawians were viewed as important workers in the South African mines due to their "skills, work discipline and lack of militancy"<ref name="afraf.oxfordjournals.org">[https://archive.today/20130113040309/http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/386/53?ck=nck Aliens and AIDS in Southern Africa: The Malawi–South  Africa debate] by [[Wiseman Chijere Chirwa]], in ''[[African Affairs]]'', 97:53-79 (1998)</ref> From 1988 to 1992, around 13,000 Malawian migrant laborers were forcefully repatriated out of South Africa. Officially, this was because 200 Malawians had tested positive for HIV in the previous two years, but many believe that it was due to the need for retrenchment of laborers during a crisis in South Africa's mining industry.<ref name="afraf.oxfordjournals.org" />

Since South Africa and Malawi had their first democratic elections in 1994, Malawi and South Africa have enhanced relations.  In 2008, the two governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to enhance the relationship between the two countries through enhanced security cooperation.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/200802251310.html Country, Malawi to Enhance Defence Co-Operation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629072444/http://allafrica.com/stories/200802251310.html |date=29 June 2018 }} by Bathandwa Mbola, BuaNews, 25 February 2008</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|South Korea}}||9 March 1965||
In 2011 Bilateral Trade between both nations totaled US$31 million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/countries/middleeast/countries/20070824/1_24475.jsp?menu=m_30_50 |title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea-Middle East and Africa |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904015758/http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/countries/middleeast/countries/20070824/1_24475.jsp?menu=m_30_50 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Turkey}}||4 August 1969||
* Embassy of [[Malawi]] in Berlin is accredited to Turkey.<ref name="auto68">{{Cite web|title=Relations between Turkey and Malawi|url=http://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-between-turkey-and-malawi.en.mfa|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=27 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227233428/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-between-turkey-and-malawi.en.mfa|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Turkish Embassy in [[Lusaka]] is accredited to [[Malawi]].<ref name="auto68" />
*Trade volume between the two countries was US$21 million in 2019 (Malawi's exports/imports: 16.4/4.67 million USD).<ref name="auto68" />
|-
|{{Flag|Ukraine}}||22 December 1998|| See [[Malawi–Ukraine relations]]
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|United Kingdom}}||6 July 1964{{failed verification|reason=The source does not state when Malawi and the United Kingdom established diplomatic relations.|date=January 2025}}||See [[Malawi–United Kingdom relations]]
Malawi established [[Foreign relations of the United Kingdom|diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom]] on 6 July 1964.<ref name=":0"/>{{failed verification|reason=The source does not state when Malawi and the United Kingdom established diplomatic relations.|date=January 2025}}
*Malawi maintains a [[High Commission of Malawi, London|high commission]] in [[London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.malawihighcommission.co.uk/index.php/high-commission|title=High Commission|website=Malawi High Commission United Kingdom|access-date=29 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241210190608/https://www.malawihighcommission.co.uk/index.php/high-commission|archive-date=10 December 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The United Kingdom is accredited to Malawi through its [[British High Commission|high commission]] in Lilongwe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-lilongwe|title=British High Commission Lilongwe|website=[[gov.uk|GOV.UK]]|access-date=29 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429085350/https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-lilongwe|archive-date=29 April 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

The UK governed [[Nyasaland|Malawi]] from 1893 until 1964, when Malawi gained full independence.

Both countries share common membership of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], the [[International Criminal Court]], and the [[World Trade Organization]]. Bilaterally the two countries have a Development Partnership,<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office |author=((Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)) |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-development-partnership-summaries|title=Country and regional development partnership summaries|website=GOV.UK|date=17 July 2023 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526234739/https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-development-partnership-summaries|archive-date=26 May 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> and a Double Taxation Agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orbitax.com/taxhub/taxtreaties/MW/Malawi/GB/United-Kingdom|title=United Kingdom - Malawi Tax Treaty (as amended through 1978 Arrangement)|website=Orbitax|access-date=23 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123003431/https://orbitax.com/taxhub/taxtreaties/MW/Malawi/GB/United-Kingdom|archive-date=23 January 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historical ties make the UK historically one of the more important donors and supporters of Malawi. However, the expulsion of the UK's High Commissioner in April 2011 may change this relationship. Since the expulsion the UK has suspended direct government aid,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14154485 |title=UK cuts aid to Malawi government |publisher=BBC |date=2011-07-14 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=28 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928065507/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14154485 |url-status=live }}</ref> citing concerns over governance and human rights.
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|{{flag|United States}}||6 July 1964||See [[Malawi–United States relations]]
{{see also|The Nation (Malawi)#Cochrane-Dyet 2011 cable controversy{{!}}Cochrane-Dyet 2011 Cable Controversy}}

The transition from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy significantly strengthened the already cordial U.S. relationship with Malawi. Significant numbers of Malawians study in the United States. The United States has an active Peace Corps program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, and an Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Malawi.

In July 2011, the United States suspended direct funding. The US government agency responsible, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, suspended aid because it was 'deeply upset' by the deaths of the 19 people during the [[2011 Malawian protests|July protests]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14299172 |title=US suspends aid to Malawi after killings |publisher=BBC |date=2011-07-26 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328104029/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14299172 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Zimbabwe}}
|17 July 1981
|Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 July 1981 when has been appointed first High Commissioner of Malawi to Zimbabwe Mr. M. A. Banda and open High Commission of Malawi in Harare.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=Staff List - Part 2 |publisher=Malawi. Government Printer |year=1983 |pages=190}}</ref>
|}