Foreign relations of Comoros
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{{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]].
Comoros also is a member of the [[Organization of African Unity]], the [[Arab League]], the [[European Development Fund]], the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]], the [[Indian Ocean Commission]], and the [[African Development Bank]].
Comoros claims [[France|French]]-administered [[Mayotte]] & the [[Glorioso Islands]].
Comoros' most significant international relationship is that with France.<ref name=cs>Ercolano, Vincent. "Foreign Affairs". [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kmtoc.html ''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.''</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 Reunion, 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 Comoran 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/>
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/>
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/>
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/> Comoran 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/> The United States established diplomatic relations in 1977 but in September 1993 closed it embassy in Moroni. The two countries enjoy friendly relations.<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/>
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>[http://www.sabanews.net/en/news152712.htm Yemen, Comoros sign agricultural MOU]. April 26, 2008.</ref>
==See also==
* [[Diplomatic missions of Comoros]]
* [[List of diplomatic missions in Comoros]]
* [[Comoros-Pakistan relations]]
* [[Comoros-United States relations]]
==References==
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{{Africa in topic|Foreign relations of}}
[[Category:Foreign relations of Comoros]]
[[Category:Foreign relations by country|Comoros]]