Foreign relations of the Bahamas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bahamas has a strong bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom, represented by a High Commissioner in London. The Bahamas also associates closely with other nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The Bahamas became a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1956 and the United Nations (UN) in 1973.

The Bahamas and the Commonwealth of Nations[edit]

The Bahamas has been an independent Commonwealth realm since 1973, with Charles III as King of The Bahamas. The King is represented locally by the Governor-General of the Bahamas.

Diplomatic relations[edit]

List of countries which the Bahamas maintains diplomatic relations with:

# Country Date
1  United Kingdom 10 July 1973[1]
2  United States 10 July 1973[2]
3  Barbados 10 July 1973[3]
4  Canada 10 July 1973[4][5]
5  Germany 10 July 1973[6]
6  Guyana 10 July 1973[7][8]
7  Jamaica 10 July 1973[9]
8  Belgium 12 December 1973[10][11]
9  Australia 7 January 1974[12]
10  Mexico 23 January 1974[13]
11  Costa Rica April 1974[14]
12  Netherlands 28 May 1974[15]
13  Argentina 17 June 1974[16]
14   Switzerland June 1974[17]
15  France August 1974[18]
16  Israel 24 September 1974[19]
17  Turkey 5 November 1974[20]
18  Cuba 30 November 1974[21]
19  Japan 11 March 1975[22]
20  Iceland 18 March 1975[23]
21  Fiji 1 September 1975[24]
22  India 16 October 1975[25]
23  Cyprus 1975[26]
24  Zambia 1975[27]
25  Philippines 3 July 1976[28]
26  Spain 1 December 1976[29]
27  Grenada 1976[30]
28  Venezuela 20 April 1977[31]
29  Indonesia 5 May 1977[32]
30  Haiti 26 August 1977[33]
31  Colombia 26 August 1977[33]
32  Ecuador 27 April 1978[33]
33  Sweden 9 May 1978[34]
34  Brazil 8 September 1978[33]
35  Austria 23 October 1978[33]
36  Morocco 20 December 1978[35]
37  Italy 1978[36]
 Holy See 27 July 1979[37]
38  Suriname 29 August 1979[38]
39  Belize 21 September 1981[39]
40  Nigeria 26 October 1982[40]
41  Uruguay 25 November 1982[41]
42  Bolivia 5 August 1983[42][43]
43  Bangladesh 8 February 1985[44]
44  South Korea 8 July 1985[45]
45  Gambia 1985[46]
46  Ivory Coast 27 June 1988[47]
47  Serbia July 1988[48]
48  Zimbabwe 1989[49]
49  Chile 4 December 1990[50]
50  Panama 1 May 1991[51]
51  North Korea 16 May 1991[33]
52  Denmark June 1991[52]
53  Dominican Republic 4 September 1991[53][54]
54  Cameroon 4 October 1991[33]
55  Norway 11 November 1991[33]
56  Saint Lucia 1992[55]
57  Nicaragua 3 January 1992[56]
58  Guatemala 30 March 1992[33]
59  El Salvador 6 May 1992[57]
60  Greece May 1993[58]
61  Portugal 27 May 1993[33]
62  Maldives 28 September 1993[33]
63  Saint Kitts and Nevis 1993[59]
64  Seychelles 1993[60]
65  Trinidad and Tobago 1993[61]
66  Kuwait 9 March 1994[33]
67  South Africa 28 July 1994[33]
68  Eswatini 1996[62]
69  China 23 May 1997[33]
70  Vanuatu 1998[63]
71  Botswana 13 September 2000[64]
72  Malaysia 2001[65]
73  Ukraine 27 September 2003[33]
74  Poland 19 November 2003[66]
75  Russia 14 January 2004[33]
76  Slovakia 28 May 2004[67]
77  Slovenia 10 September 2004[33]
78  Malta 20 September 2004[33]
79  Singapore 16 December 2004[33]
80  Latvia 20 January 2005[33]
81  Pakistan 10 February 2005[68]
82  Egypt 11 February 2005
83  Hungary 17 May 2005[33]
84  Czech Republic 6 June 2005[33]
85  Sri Lanka 19 July 2005[33]
86  Lithuania 11 August 2005[69]
87  Mozambique 7 September 2005[33]
88  Estonia 20 October 2005[33]
89  Finland 2 December 2005[70]
90  Sierra Leone 7 November 2006[33]
91  San Marino 22 November 2006[33]
92  Ireland 23 April 2007[33]
93  Romania 18 July 2007[71]
94  Bulgaria 27 September 2007[33]
95  Luxembourg 28 September 2007[33]
96  Namibia 15 May 2008[72]
 Sovereign Military Order of Malta 11 November 2008[73]
97  Bahrain 25 September 2010[33]
98  Ghana 17 March 2011[74]
99  United Arab Emirates 2 May 2011[33]
100  Georgia 13 May 2011[33]
101  Qatar 1 August 2013[75]
102  Kazakhstan 8 December 2014[76]
103  Mongolia 8 July 2016[33]
104  Thailand 21 September 2016[33]
105  Turkmenistan 7 October 2016[33]
106  Brunei 21 November 2016[33]
107  Mauritius 18 January 2017[33]
108  Croatia 31 January 2017[77]
109  Azerbaijan 2 May 2017[33]
110  Montenegro 6 September 2017[78]
111  Armenia 21 September 2017[33]
112    Nepal 7 November 2017[33]
113  Tajikistan 5 December 2017[33]
114  New Zealand 27 June 2019[79][80]
115  Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 October 2019[33]
116  Andorra 31 October 2019[33]
117  Moldova 15 November 2019[33]
118  Belarus 9 December 2019[81]
119  Rwanda 16 June 2022[33]
120  Tuvalu 23 June 2022[33]
121  Saudi Arabia 23 November 2022[82]
122  Cape Verde 8 December 2022[83]
123  Vietnam 6 January 2023[33]
124  Oman 10 January 2023[84]
125  Kenya 19 January 2024[85]
126  Benin 22 January 2024[86]
127  Solomon Islands 16 March 2024[87]
128  Antigua and Barbuda Unknown
129  Dominica Unknown
130  Honduras Unknown
131  Lesotho Unknown
132  Malawi Unknown
133  Peru Unknown
134  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Unknown
135  Uganda Unknown

Bilateral relations[edit]

Country Formal an Notes
 Barbados 10 July 1973
  • Both countries established diplomatic relations on 10 July 1973.[88]
  • Both countries are full members of the Association of Caribbean States and the Commonwealth of Nations.
  • The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is accredited to Barbados through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nassau,[89] and an Honorary Consulate at St. James in Barbados.[90]
  • Barbados is accredited to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bridgetown,[91] and an Honorary Consulate in New Providence.[92]
 Belgium 12 December 1973
  • Bahamas has an embassy in Brussels.
  • Belgium is accredited to the Bahamas from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
 Belize 21 September 1981
 Brazil 18 August 1978
  • Bahamas has a non-resident ambassador to Brazil based in Nassau.
  • Brazil has an embassy in Nassau.
 Canada 10 July 1973
  • Bahamas has a high commission in Ottawa.
  • Canada is accredited to the Bahamas from its high commission in Kingston, Jamaica and maintains an honorary consulate in Nassau.
 China 23 May 1997 See Bahamas–China relations
  • Bahamas has an embassy in Beijing.
  • China has an embassy in Nassau.
 Cuba 30 November 1974 See Bahamas–Cuba relations

A repatriation agreement was signed with Cuba in 1996, and there are commercial and cultural contacts between the two countries.

  • Bahamas has an embassy in Havana.
  • Cuba has an embassy in Nassau.
 Guyana 10 July 1973
 Haiti 12 August 1977 See Bahamas–Haiti relations

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis visited Port-au-Prince to discuss stemming illegal immigration from Haiti and a trade deal selling Haitian agricultural products to the Bahamas.

  • Bahamas has an embassy in Port-au-Prince.
  • Haiti has an embassy in Nassau.
 India 16 October 1975 See Bahamas–India relations
  • Bahamas is accredited to India from its high commission in New Delhi.
  • India is accredited to the Bahamas from its high commission in Kingston, Jamaica.
 Mexico 24 January 1974 See Bahamas–Mexico relations
  • Bahamas is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.[95]
  • Mexico is accredited to the Bahamas from its embassy in Kingston, Jamaica and maintains an honorary consulate in Nassau.[96]
 Poland 30 August 2004
  • Bahamas does not have an accreditation to Poland.
  • Poland is accredited to the Bahamas from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States and maintains an honorary consulate in Nassau.
 Russia 14 January 2004

The two countries signed accords on diplomatic relations on January 14, 2004. Since both countries have signed a joint communiqué, Sergey Lavrov states that the Bahamas and Russia decided to sign diplomatic missions on the ambassadorial level. Both countries are members of the United Nations. Russia is represented in the Bahamas through its consulate-general in New York City. On 24 July 2022, Russia added the Bahamas to its Unfriendly countries list.

 Serbia July 1988
  • Both countries have established diplomatic relations in July 1988.[97]
  • A number of bilateral agreements have been concluded and are in force in both countries.[98]
 South Korea 8 July 1985 See Bahamas–South Korea relations

The two countries have good relations.[99]

 Turkey 5 November 1974[100] See Bahamas–Turkey relations
  • Bahamas does not have an accreditation to Turkey.
  • Turkey is accredited to the Bahamas from its embassy in Havana, Cuba.[100]
  • Trade volume between the two countries was 86.1 million USD in 2019.[100]
 United Kingdom 10 July 1973
  • Bahamas has a high commission in London.
  • United Kingdom has a high commission in Nassau.
 United States 10 July 1973 See Bahamas–United States relations

The Bahamas and the United States historically have had close economic and commercial relations. The countries share ethnic and cultural ties, especially in education; The Bahamas is home to approximately 30,000 American residents. In addition, there are about 110 U.S.-related businesses in The Bahamas and, in 2005, 87% of the 5 million tourists visiting The Bahamas were American.

As a neighbour, The Bahamas and its political stability are especially important to the United States. The U.S. and the Bahamian governments have worked together on reducing crime and addressing migration issues. With the closest island only 45 miles from the coast of Florida, The Bahamas often is used as a gateway for drugs and illegal aliens bound for the United States. The United States and The Bahamas cooperate closely to handle these threats.

U.S. assistance and resources have been essential to Bahamian efforts to mitigate the persistent flow of illegal narcotics and migrants through the archipelago. The United States and The Bahamas also actively cooperate on law enforcement, civil aviation, marine research, meteorology, and agricultural issues. The U.S. Navy operates an underwater research facility on Andros Island.

The Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection maintains "preclearance" facilities at the airports in Nassau and Freeport. Travelers to the U.S. are interviewed and inspected before departure, allowing faster connection times in the U.S.

Multilateral memberships[edit]

The Bahamas holds memberships in a number of international organizations: the UN and some specialized and related agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Bank, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and World Health Organization (WHO); the OAS and related agencies, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO); the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), excluding its Caribbean Single Market and Economy; the International Criminal Police Organization – Interpol; the Universal Postal Union (UPU); the International Maritime Organization (IMO); and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  99. ^ "Search | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea".
  100. ^ a b c "Relations between Turkey and the Commonwealth of Bahamas". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.
United States

External links[edit]