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

Regional relations generally were good. 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. 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.

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

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

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which the Comoros maintains diplomatic relations with:

# Country Date
1  China 13 November 1975
2  North Korea 13 November 1975
3  Syria 25 November 1975
4  Russia 6 January 1976
5  Libya 1 April 1976
6  Kuwait 3 May 1976
7  Iraq 1 June 1976
8  Czech Republic 7 June 1976
9  Egypt 28 June 1976
10  India June 1976
11  Senegal 10 July 1976
12  Romania 12 August 1976
 Iran (suspended) September 1976
13  Italy 1 November 1976
14  Madagascar 12 November 1976
15  Belgium 15 November 1976
16  Serbia 24 November 1976
17  Cuba 21 December 1976
18  Tanzania 1976
19  Tunisia 1976
20   Switzerland 1 March 1977
21  United Arab Emirates 2 June 1977
22  Bulgaria 6 June 1977
23  Poland 6 June 1977
24  Canada 16 June 1977
25  United States 15 August 1977
26  United Kingdom 3 October 1977
27  Japan 14 November 1977
28  Netherlands 28 November 1977
29  Hungary 30 November 1977
30  Finland 19 December 1977
31  Luxembourg 1 February 1978
32  Germany 2 February 1978
33  France 3 July 1978
34  Morocco 1978
35  South Korea 19 February 1979
36  Algeria 27 February 1979
37  Turkey 22 August 1979
38  Oman 9 January 1981
39  Guinea 11 August 1981
40  Denmark 1 December 1981
41  Sweden 23 March 1982
42  Nigeria 5 November 1982
43  Spain 1 March 1983
44  Indonesia 19 March 1983
45  Maldives 20 July 1983
46  Australia 27 July 1983
47  Pakistan 19 October 1983
48  Djibouti 29 March 1984
49  Bahrain 1984
50  Saudi Arabia 1984
51  Yemen 6 January 1985
52  Mauritius 25 February 1985
53  Mozambique 20 June 1985
54  Singapore 24 August 1985
55  Thailand 15 July 1986
56  Seychelles 30 June 1988
57  Argentina 28 September 1988
58  Colombia 3 October 1988
59  Bolivia 3 April 1989
60  Venezuela 26 October 1990
 State of Palestine 1990
61  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 December 1992
62  South Africa 14 May 1993
63  Ukraine 23 July 1993
64  Portugal 27 December 1996
65  Brunei 16 February 1999
66  Croatia 29 June 1999
67  North Macedonia 29 June 2000
68  Malaysia 2000
69  Iceland 29 October 2004
70  Angola 22 December 2004
71  Brazil 25 March 2005
72  Uzbekistan 21 May 2005
73  Zambia 22 February 2007
74  Austria 8 March 2007
75  Armenia 2 July 2008
76  Andorra 8 July 2008
77  Mexico 13 October 2008
78  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 24 September 2008
79  Uruguay 14 May 2009
80  Azerbaijan 1 January 2010
81  Cambodia 22 February 2010
82  Latvia 24 February 2010
83  Georgia 26 March 2010
84  Estonia 30 November 2010
85  Montenegro 9 February 2011
86  Solomon Islands 14 February 2011
87  Slovenia 25 April 2011
88  Sudan 16 August 2011
89  Philippines 25 November 2011
90  Mongolia 5 December 2011
91  Kazakhstan 29 March 2012
92  Tuvalu 5 April 2012
93  Equatorial Guinea 28 June 2012
94  Lithuania 26 September 2013
95  Fiji 7 November 2013
96  Bangladesh 14 October 2014
97  Ghana 5 July 2015
98  Vietnam 24 September 2015
99  Ecuador 15 October 2015
100  Ivory Coast 16 February 2016
101  Mali 16 February 2016
102  Mauritania 19 October 2016
103  Slovakia 6 June 2017
104  Benin 17 May 2018
105  South Sudan 17 May 2018
106  Tajikistan 17 August 2018
107  Jordan 2 September 2018
108  Botswana 26 September 2018
109  Uganda 24 October 2018
110  Norway 28 June 2019
111  Nicaragua 18 September 2019
112  Niger 21 November 2020
113  Ireland 6 October 2021
114  Gambia 11 October 2021
115  Namibia 20 October 2021
116  Rwanda 16 January 2023
117  Republic of the Congo 3 February 2023
118  Kenya 1 September 2023
119  Burkina Faso Unknown
120  Burundi Unknown
121  Democratic Republic of the Congo Unknown
122  Ethiopia Unknown
123  Greece Unknown
124  Lebanon Unknown
125  Somalia Unknown

Bilateral relations

Country Formal Relations Began Notes
 Belgium 15 November 1976
  • Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 November 1976
  • Comoros maintains an embassy in Brussels.
 China 13 November 1975 See China–Comoros relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 November 1975

Comoros also hosted an embassy of China, which established relations during the Soilih regime. 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.

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.

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.

 Democratic Republic of Congo The countries maintain diplomatic relations and Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi visited Comoros in 2023.
 Cyprus

Cyprus is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Pretoria.

 Denmark 1 December 1981

Denmark is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

 Finland 19 December 1977

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 19 December 1977

Comoros is represented in Finland by its embassy in Paris, France.

 France 1 July 1978 See France–Comoros relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 July 1978

Comoros' most significant international relationship is that with France. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Comoros claims French-administered Mayotte & the Glorioso Islands.

 India 4 June 1976 See Comoros–India relations
 Indonesia 23 June 1983 Both countries established diplomatic relations on 23 June 1983
 Ireland 24 October 2018

Ireland is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

 Italy 1 November 1976 Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 November 1976
 Japan 14 November 1977

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.

 Libya 1 April 1976 Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 April 1976
 Malaysia 2000 Both countries established diplomatic relations in 2000.
 Mexico 13 October 2008 Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 October 2008
  • The Comoros does not have an accreditation to Mexico.
  • Mexico is accredited to the Comoros from its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
 Morocco The two countries maintain diplomatic relations and signed 11 agreements in 2022.
 Netherlands 21 February 1977
  • Comoros is represented in Netherlands by their embassy in Brussels, Belgium.
  • The Netherlands are represented in Comoros by their embassy in Dar es Salaam.
 Niger The two countries maintain cordial relations.
 North Korea See Comoros–North Korea relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on November 13, 1975.

 Qatar See Comoros–Qatar relations

Comoros severed the diplomatic relations with Qatar in June 2017.

 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Comoros.
 Serbia 24 November 1976

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 24 November 1976.

Serbia is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

 South Africa 14 May 1993

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 May 1993

The close relationship Comoros developed with South Africa in the 1980s was much less significant to both countries in the 1990s. 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. Although South Africa continued to provide developmental aid, it closed its consulate in Moroni in 1992. 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.

 Turkey 22 August 1979 See Comoros–Turkey relations
  • The Embassy of the Comoros in Cairo is accredited to Turkey.
  • The Turkish ambassador in Antananarivo to Madagascar is also accredited to the Union of the Comoros.
  • Trade volume between the two countries was 21.1 million USD in 2019.
 Ukraine 23 July 1993
  • Both countries established diplomatic relations on July 23, 1993.
  • Comoros has an honorary consulate in Kyiv.
  • Ukraine is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
 United Kingdom 3 October 1977

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 October 1977.

Great-Britain is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

 United States 15 August 1977 See Comoros–United States relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 August 1977.

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. 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. Future friendly relations continue to look promising between the Comoros and America.

 Uzbekistan 21 May 2005
 Yemen 6 January 1985

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 6 January 1985

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.

See also


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