Foreign relations of the 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

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.[1] 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.[1] In October 1993, Comoros joined the League of Arab States, after having been rejected when it applied for membership initially in 1977.[1]

Regional relations generally were good.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]

In November 1975, Comoros became the 143d member of the UN. In the 1990s, the republic continued to represent Mahoré in the UN.[1] Comoros was also a member of the OAU, the EDF, the World Bank, the IMF, the IOC, and the African Development Bank.[1]

Comoros thus cultivated relations with various nations, both East and West, seeking to increase trade and obtain financial assistance.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]

Bilateral relations

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Andorra	2008	Both countries established diplomatic relations on July 8, 2008.[2]
Argentina		Argentina is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.[3][4]
Armenia		Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 July 2008.
Australia		Australia is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Port Louis.[5]
Azerbaijan	6 September 1994[6]	On September 6, 1994, the Protocol was signed to establish diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Comoros.[6]
Canada	1977	Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1977.[7] Both countries are full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
China		See People's Republic of China – Comoros relations Comoros also hosted an embassy of China, which established relations during the Soilih regime.[1] 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.[1] 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.[8] 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.[9][10]
Cyprus		Cyprus is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Pretoria.[11]
Denmark		Denmark is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.[12]
Fiji	7 November 2013	Both countries established diplomatic relations on November 7, 2013.[13]
Finland		Comoros is represented in Finland by its embassy in Paris, France.[14]
France		See France–Comoros relations Comoros' most significant international relationship is that with France.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] Comoros claims French-administered Mayotte & the Glorioso Islands.
Germany	1978	Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 2, 1978.[15]
Georgia		The Comoros and Georgia established full diplomatic relations on 26 March 2010.[16]
India	June 1976	See Comoros–India relations Both countries established diplomatic relations in June 1976.[17] Both countries are full members of the Indian-Ocean Rim Association.
Indonesia		Indonesia is represented in Comoros by their embassy in Dar es Salaam.[18] Both countries are full members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and of the Indian-Ocean Rim Association.
Iran	January 2016	Comoros severed the diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016.
Ireland		Ireland is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.[19]
Italy		Comoros is represented in Italy by its embassy in Paris, France[20]and an honorary consulate in Rome.[21] Italy is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania[22] and an honorary consulate in Anjouan.[23]
Japan		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.[1]
Latvia	24 February 2010	Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 24, 2010.[24]
Lithuania	26 September 2013	Both countries established diplomatic relations on September 26, 2013.[25]
Maldives	20 July 1983	Both countries established diplomatic relations on July 20, 1983.[26]
Mexico	October 2008	The Comoros does not have an accreditation to Mexico. Mexico is accredited to the Comoros from its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.[27]
Montenegro	2011	Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 9, 2011.[28]
Netherlands		Comoros are represented in Netherlands by their embassy in Brussels, Belgium.[29] The Netherlands are represented in Netherlands by their embassy in Dar es Salaam.[30]
North Korea	13 November 1975	See Comoros–North Korea relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on November 13, 1975.[31]
Qatar		See Comoros–Qatar relations Comoros severed the diplomatic relations with Qatar in June 2017.
Romania		Both countries established diplomatic relations on August 12, 1976.[32]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2008	Both countries established diplomatic relations on October 3, 2008.[33]
Serbia		Serbia is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.[34][35]
Singapore	8 April 2013	Both countries established diplomatic relations on April 8, 2013.[36]
South Africa		The close relationship Comoros developed with South Africa in the 1980s was much less significant to both countries in the 1990s.[1] 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.[1] Although South Africa continued to provide developmental aid, it closed its consulate in Moroni in 1992.[1] 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.[1]
South Korea		Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Union of Comoros were established on 19 February 1979. Four South Koreans were living in Comoros in 2011–12.[37]
Spain		See Comoros–Spain relations
Switzerland	1977	Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1977.[38] Both countries are full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Tunisia		Both countries have established diplomatic relations.[39]
Turkey	1979[40]	See Comoros–Turkey relations The Embassy of the Comoros in Cairo is accredited to Turkey.[40] The Turkish ambassador in Antananarivo to Madagascar is also accredited to the Union of the Comoros.[40] Trade volume between the two countries was 21.1 million USD in 2019.[40]
Ukraine		Both countries established diplomatic relations on July 23, 1993.[41] Comoros has an honorary consulate in Kyiv.[42] Ukraine is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.[43]
United Kingdom		Great-Britain is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar.[44]
United States	1977	See Comoros–United States relations The United States established diplomatic relations in 1977 but in September 1993 closed its embassy in Moroni. Presently, The United States Ambassador in Madagascar is also accredited to Comoros. The two countries enjoy friendly relations.[1] 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.[45] Future friendly relations continue to look promising between the Comoros and America.
Uzbekistan	2005	Both countries established diplomatic relations on May 21, 2005.[46] Both countries are full members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Vietnam		Both countries are full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Yemen		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.[47]

See also

• List of diplomatic missions in Comoros
• List of diplomatic missions of Comoros

References

1. Ercolano, Vincent. "Foreign Affairs". A country study: Comoros (Helen Chapin Metz, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (August 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. "Comoros". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
6. "The Comoros". mfa.gov.az. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
7. Government of Canada, Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada (18 November 2008). "Canada - Union of the Comoros Relations". GAC. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
8. "Chinese defense minister meets Comoros army chief Archived 2008-10-22 at the Wayback Machine", China View. 2008-10-21.
9. Africa: Ending Malaria in Sight? AfricaFocus Bulletin, [email protected], 2009-11-30.
10. David Lague (2007-06-05). "On island off Africa, China tries to wipe out malaria". New York Times.
11. "MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS - Bilateral Relations". Mfa.gov.cy. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
12. Sites, Manage One Pages. "Danmark i Comorerne". Manage One Pages Sites. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
13. "Comoros and Fiji Establish Diplomatic Relations - The Permanent Mission Of The Republic Of Fiji to the United Nations". Fijiprun.org. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
14. "Embassy of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, Paris - Ministry for Foreign Affairs". um.fi. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
15. Amt, Auswärtiges. "Federal Foreign Office - Comoros". Auswärtiges Amt DE. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
16. "Georgia and the Union of the Comoros established diplomatic relations" georgiandaily.com 2010-03-26 Link retrieved 2010-03-27
17. "India-Comoros Relations" (PDF). Mea.gov.in. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
19. "Comoros - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". www.dfa.ie. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2015-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
27. "Versión en Español". Embamex.sre.gob.mx. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
31. Wertz, Daniel; Oh, JJ; Kim, Insung (August 2016). Issue Brief: DPRK Diplomatic Relations (PDF). The National Committee on North Korea. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
32. "Diplomatic Relations of Romania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Mae.ro. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
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37. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2015-06-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
38. "Bilateral relations Switzerland–the Comoros". Eda.admin.ch. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
39. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2017-08-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
40. "Relations between Turkey and the Comoros".
44. Access, please call [phone] or email us; Times, Opening. "British Embassy Antananarivo - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
45. "The Comoros Islands and President Sambi – Could Change Finally have Arrived?". Prweb.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
47. "Saba Net - Yemen news agency". Sabanews.net. Retrieved 17 April 2018.