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Foreign relations of Saint Lucia

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Saint Lucia maintains friendly relations with the major powers active in the Caribbean, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and France. Saint Lucia has no extant international disputes, aside from tension resulting from the island's status as a transit point for South American drugs destined for the United States and Europe.

Saint Lucia's Permanent Representative (or ambassador) to the United Nations as of February 22, 2017, was Cosmos Richardson, who was still in office as of January 2018.[1]

History

Saint Lucia participated in the American-led invasion of Grenada in 1983, sending members of its Special Services Unit into active duty. It was subsequently one of eight countries to cast a vote against a United Nations General Assembly motion condemning the invasion.[2]

As a member of CARICOM, St. Lucia strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, designed to restore democracy to Haiti. St. Lucia agreed to contribute personnel to the multinational force which restored the democratically elected government of Haiti in October 1994.

St. Lucia participated along with 14 other Caribbean nations in a summit with US President Bill Clinton in Bridgetown, Barbados, in May 1997. The summit was the first-ever meeting in the region between the U.S. and Caribbean heads of government, and strengthen the basis for regional cooperation on justice and counternarcotics, finance and development, and trade issues.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Saint Lucia established diplomatic relations with:

More information #, Country ...
#CountryDate
1 United Kingdom 22 February 1979[3]
2 Jamaica 22 February 1979[4]
3 Barbados 23 February 1979[5]
4 Canada 23 February 1979[6]
5 Guyana 23 February 1979[7]
6 South Korea 23 February 1979[8]
7 Mexico 17 May 1979[9]
8 United States 11 June 1979[10]
9 Cuba 23 August 1979[11]
10 North Korea 13 September 1979[12]
11 France 14 September 1979[13]
12 Venezuela 14 September 1979[14]
13 Romania 15 November 1979[15]
14 Argentina 13 December 1979[16]
15 Brazil 21 December 1979[16]
16 Bahamas 1979[17]
17 Dominica 1979[17]
18 Haiti 1979[17]
19 Israel 1979[17]
20 Italy 1979[17]
21 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1979[17]
22 Trinidad and Tobago 1979[17]
23 Ecuador 1 January 1980[16]
24 Germany 8 January 1980[18]
25 Japan 11 January 1980[19]
26 Cyprus 24 July 1980[16]
27 Greece 18 November 1980[16]
28 Suriname 18 November 1980[16]
29 Belgium 1980[17]
30 Iraq 1980[17]
31 Netherlands 1980[17]
32 Belize 21 September 1981[20]
33 Sweden September 1981[21]
34 Australia 17 January 1982[22]
35 India 8 February 1982[23]
36 Colombia 18 March 1982[24]
37 Grenada 6 October 1982[25]
38 Denmark 20 December 1982[26]
39 Bangladesh 12 May 1983[27]
40 Saint Kitts and Nevis 19 September 1983[28]
41 Antigua and Barbuda 1983[17]
— Republic of China 13 January 1984[29]
42 Oman 28 March 1984[16]
— Holy See 1 September 1984[30]
43 Peru 1985[17]
44 Spain 2 May 1986[16]
45 Morocco 9 March 1988[16]
46 Seychelles 13 July 1988[16]
47 Dominican Republic 1988[17]
48 Thailand 4 April 1989[16]
49 Uruguay 1 September 1989[16]
50 Chile 21 March 1991[31]
51 Costa Rica 1991[17]
52 Guatemala 1 April 1992[16]
53 Malaysia 9 October 1992[32]
54 Marshall Islands 1992[17]
55 Nicaragua 1992[17]
56 Paraguay 18 June 1993[16]
57 Singapore 15 January 1994[33]
58 Indonesia 2 February 1994[34]
59 El Salvador 2 February 1994[35]
60 Panama 10 July 1995[36]
61 Czech Republic 6 August 1996[16]
62 Portugal 19 September 1996[16]
63 South Africa 12 December 1996[16]
64 Brunei 1996[17]
— China (suspended) 8 September 1997[37]
65 Croatia 10 December 1997[16]
66 Norway 11 November 1998[38]
— Sovereign Military Order of Malta 1999[17]
67 Poland 24 May 2000[16]
68 North Macedonia 24 August 2000[16]
69 Belarus 25 August 2000[16]
70 Armenia 17 October 2000[16]
71 Ireland 2000[17]
72 Saudi Arabia 2000[17]
73 Russia 19 April 2004[16]
74 Ethiopia 3 August 2004[16]
75 Austria 2 June 2005[39]
76 Turkey 25 June 2005[40]
77 Slovenia 29 August 2005[16]
78 Tajikistan 5 October 2005[16]
79 Hungary 7 October 2005[16]
80 Iceland 7 May 2006[41]
81  Switzerland 10 June 2006[42]
82 Latvia 21 June 2006[16]
83 Lithuania 19 March 2009[16]
84 Estonia 23 September 2009[16]
85 Finland 23 September 2009[16]
86 Luxembourg 23 September 2009[16]
87 Slovakia 23 September 2009[16]
88 Libya 30 October 2009[16]
89 Georgia 25 February 2010[16]
90 Azerbaijan 11 March 2010[16]
91 Malta 11 March 2010[16]
92 Albania 14 July 2010[16]
93 Egypt 19 July 2010[16]
94 Montenegro 24 September 2010[16]
95 Ukraine 24 September 2010[43]
96 United Arab Emirates 29 November 2010[44]
97 Kuwait 31 January 2011[16]
98 Monaco 12 May 2011[16]
— Kosovo 19 August 2011[17]
99 Maldives 2 December 2011[17]
100 Kazakhstan 5 December 2012[16]
101 Qatar 1 March 2013[16]
102 Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 April 2013[16]
103 New Zealand 17 May 2013[45]
104 Honduras 5 June 2014[46]
105 Mongolia 27 September 2014[16]
106 Mauritius 7 November 2014[17]
— State of Palestine 14 September 2015[16]
107 Fiji 27 January 2016[16]
108 Philippines 29 March 2016[16]
109 Vietnam 26 June 2018[16]
110 Gambia 25 September 2018[17]
111 Kiribati 25 September 2018[17]
112 Solomon Islands 25 September 2018[17]
113 Sri Lanka 25 June 2019[16]
114 Bolivia 26 June 2019[17]
115   Nepal 27 August 2019[16]
116 Rwanda 28 August 2019[16]
117 Namibia 29 October 2019[16]
118 Serbia 13 November 2019[17]
119 Kenya 10 December 2019[16]
120 San Marino 7 February 2020[17]
121 Bulgaria 5 November 2020[16]
122 Moldova 3 March 2021[16]
123 Cape Verde 20 September 2022[47]
124 Ivory Coast 22 September 2022[16]
125 Tuvalu 7 December 2022[16]
126 Bahrain 13 December 2022[16]
127 Algeria 19 December 2022[16]
128 Andorra 20 September 2023[16]
129 Kyrgyzstan 20 September 2023[16]
130 Liechtenstein 20 September 2023[16]
131 Sierra Leone 20 September 2023[16]
132 Timor-Leste 8 November 2023[16]
133 Mauritania 5 December 2023[48]
134 Botswana 6 December 2023[16]
135 Samoa 14 December 2023[49]
136 Pakistan 28 May 2024[16]
137 Benin 25 June 2024[16]
138 Mali 26 June 2024[16]
139 Eritrea 16 September 2024[16]
140 Ghana 24 September 2024[16]
141 Nigeria 30 June 2025[50]
142 Uzbekistan 10 September 2025[16]
143 Cambodia 26 September 2025[16]
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Bilateral relations

More information Country, Formal Relations Began ...
Country Formal Relations Began Notes
France14 September 1979See France–Saint Lucia relations
  • Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 22, 1979.
India1982See India–Saint Lucia relations
See also: Indo-Saint Lucian

Relations between India and Saint Lucia date back to the mid-19th century when both countries were British colonies. The first Indians in Saint Lucia arrived on 1 May 1857 as indentured workers on board the Palmyra. Thirteen ships transported indentured labourers from India to Saint Lucia in the following decades.[53] The last ship carrying Indian indentured workers, the Volga, arrived on the island on 10 December 1893. In total, nearly 4,500 Indians were brought to Saint Lucia, excluding those who died during the voyage.[54] About 2,075 workers returned to India, while the rest remained in Saint Lucia or emigrated to other Caribbean nations such as Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.[55] The last indenture contracts expired in 1897, and by the end of the 19th century, Saint Lucia had a population of 2,560 free Indians. Many Indians who had completed their indenture periods were unable to return home as they did not have sufficient funds to do so. The Indians that remained in Saint Lucia are the origin of the Indo-Saint Lucian community.[56]

The Embassy of India in Paramaribo, Suriname is concurrently accredited to Saint Lucia.[57] Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Kenny D. Anthony held bilateral discussions on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York on 25 September 2015. Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy made a visit to Saint Lucia on 3–6 October 2016. Rudy held bilateral talks with Acting Prime Minister Guy Joseph, Minister of External Affairs Sarah Beaubrun Flood, Senator Hermanglid Francis, the Minister for Home Affairs, Justice and National Security, the Minister of Commerce, Industrialists, Diaspora Associations, Academicians and other senior Saint Lucian government officials.[58]

Indo-Saint Lucians or Indian Saint Lucians are Saint Lucians of Indian ancestry, descended from the Indians who came to Saint Lucia in the 19th century as indentured workers. As of 2013, people of Indian descent are a minority ethnic group in the country, accounting for 2.4% of the country's population. An additional 11.9% of the country is multiracial, predominantly of Indian and African descent.[59] They have completely assimilated with the local population and have little familiarity with Indian culture. Some Indo-Saint Lucians have held high offices such as Cabinet Ministers.[57] As of December 2016, around 250 Indian citizens reside in Saint Lucia. Most members of the community are doctors and other professionals, while a few are businessmen engaged in imports, trading and running duty-free shops.[58]

Mexico17 May 1979See Mexico–Saint Lucia relations
  • Mexico has an embassy in Castries.[60]
  • Saint Lucia is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
Trinidad and Tobago22 February 1979See Saint Lucia-Trinidad and Tobago relations
Taiwan7 May 1984, severed 29 August 1997, Restored 30 April 2007

St. Lucia had official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) for about 13 years, but switched recognition to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. On 25 April 2007, the Premier of the Republic of China Su Tseng-chang, announced that St. Lucia and the ROC would resume formal diplomatic relations.[61] On 1 May 2007, St. Lucia regained diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).[62] Within a few days, the People's Republic of China suspended diplomatic relations.[63] On 4 June 2015, St. Lucia opened its embassy in Taipei, its first embassy in Asia.[64]

Turkey25 May 2005See Saint Lucia–Turkey relations
United Kingdom1979See Saint Lucia–United Kingdom relations
British Foreign Secretary William Hague with Saint Lucian Prime Minister Stephenson King in Lancaster House, April 2011.

Saint Lucia established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom in 22 February 1979.[66] Both countries are Commonwealth Realms.

  • Saint Lucia maintains a high commission in London.[67]
  • The United Kingdom is accredited to its high commission in Castries.[68]

The UK governed Saint Lucia from 1803 to 1979, when Saint Lucia achieved full independence.

Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth; they are both parties of the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement.[69] Bilaterally the two countries have an Investment Agreement.[70]

United States11 June 1979See Saint Lucia–United States relations
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