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:

CountryDate
1United Kingdom22 February 1979[3]
2Jamaica22 February 1979[4]
3Barbados23 February 1979[5]
4Canada23 February 1979[6]
5Guyana23 February 1979[7]
6South Korea23 February 1979[8]
7Mexico17 May 1979[9]
8United States11 June 1979[10]
9Cuba23 August 1979[11]
10North Korea13 September 1979[12]
11France14 September 1979[13]
12Venezuela14 September 1979[14]
13Romania15 November 1979[15]
14Argentina13 December 1979[16]
15Brazil21 December 1979[16]
16Bahamas1979[17]
17Dominica1979[17]
18Haiti1979[17]
19Israel1979[17]
20Italy1979[17]
21Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1979[17]
22Trinidad and Tobago1979[17]
23Ecuador1 January 1980[16]
24Germany8 January 1980[18]
25Japan11 January 1980[19]
26Cyprus24 July 1980[16]
27Greece18 November 1980[16]
28Suriname18 November 1980[16]
29Belgium1980[17]
30Iraq1980[17]
31Netherlands1980[17]
32Belize21 September 1981[20]
33Sweden1981[17]
34Australia17 January 1982[21]
35India8 February 1982[22]
36Colombia18 March 1982[23]
37Grenada6 October 1982[24]
38Denmark20 December 1982[25]
39Bangladesh12 May 1983[26]
40Saint Kitts and Nevis19 September 1983[27]
41Antigua and Barbuda1983[17]
—Republic of China13 January 1984[28]
42Oman28 March 1984[16]
—Holy See1 September 1984[29]
43Peru1985[17]
44Spain2 May 1986[16]
45Morocco9 March 1988[16]
46Seychelles13 July 1988[16]
47Dominican Republic1988[17]
48Thailand4 April 1989[16]
49Uruguay1 September 1989[16]
50Chile21 March 1991[30]
51Costa Rica1991[17]
52Guatemala1 April 1992[16]
53Malaysia9 October 1992[31]
54Marshall Islands1992[17]
55Nicaragua1992[17]
56Paraguay18 June 1993[16]
57Singapore15 January 1994[32]
58Indonesia2 February 1994[33]
59El Salvador2 February 1994[34]
60Panama10 July 1995[35]
61Czech Republic6 August 1996[16]
62Portugal19 September 1996[16]
63South Africa12 December 1996[16]
64Brunei1996[17]
—China (suspended)8 September 1997[36]
65Croatia10 December 1997[16]
66Norway11 November 1998[37]
—Sovereign Military Order of Malta1999[17]
67Poland24 May 2000[16]
68North Macedonia24 August 2000[16]
69Belarus25 August 2000[16]
70Armenia17 October 2000[16]
71Ireland2000[17]
72Saudi Arabia2000[17]
73Russia19 April 2004[16]
74Ethiopia3 August 2004[16]
75Austria2 June 2005[38]
76Turkey25 June 2005[39]
77Slovenia29 August 2005[16]
78Tajikistan5 October 2005[16]
79Hungary7 October 2005[16]
80Iceland7 May 2006[40]
81Switzerland10 June 2006[41]
82Latvia21 June 2006[16]
83Lithuania19 March 2009[16]
84Estonia23 September 2009[16]
85Finland23 September 2009[16]
86Luxembourg23 September 2009[16]
87Slovakia23 September 2009[16]
88Libya30 October 2009[16]
89Georgia25 February 2010[16]
90Azerbaijan11 March 2010[16]
91Malta11 March 2010[16]
92Albania14 July 2010[16]
93Egypt19 July 2010[16]
94Montenegro24 September 2010[16]
95Ukraine24 September 2010[42]
96United Arab Emirates29 November 2010[43]
97Kuwait31 January 2011[16]
98Monaco12 May 2011[16]
—Kosovo19 August 2011[17]
99Maldives2 December 2011[17]
100Kazakhstan5 December 2012[16]
101Qatar1 March 2013[16]
102Bosnia and Herzegovina15 April 2013[16]
103New Zealand17 May 2013[44]
104Honduras5 June 2014[45]
105Mongolia27 September 2014[16]
106Mauritius7 November 2014[17]
—State of Palestine14 September 2015[16]
107Fiji27 January 2016[16]
108Philippines29 March 2016[16]
109Vietnam26 June 2018[16]
110Gambia25 September 2018[17]
111Kiribati25 September 2018[17]
112Solomon Islands25 September 2018[17]
113Sri Lanka25 June 2019[16]
114Bolivia26 June 2019[17]
115Nepal27 August 2019[16]
116Rwanda28 August 2019[16]
117Namibia29 October 2019[16]
118Serbia13 November 2019[17]
119Kenya10 December 2019[16]
120San Marino7 February 2020[17]
121Bulgaria5 November 2020[16]
122Moldova3 March 2021[16]
123Cape Verde20 September 2022[46]
124Ivory Coast22 September 2022[16]
125Tuvalu7 December 2022[16]
126Bahrain13 December 2022[16]
127Algeria19 December 2022[16]
128Andorra20 September 2023[16]
129Kyrgyzstan20 September 2023[16]
130Liechtenstein20 September 2023[16]
131Sierra Leone20 September 2023[16]
132Timor-Leste8 November 2023[16]
133Mauritania5 December 2023[47]
134Botswana6 December 2023[16]
135Samoa14 December 2023[48]
136Pakistan28 May 2024[16]
137Benin25 June 2024[16]
138Mali26 June 2024[16]
139Eritrea16 September 2024[16]
140Ghana24 September 2024[16]
141Nigeria30 June 2025[49]
142Uzbekistan10 September 2025[16]
143Cambodia26 September 2025[16]

Bilateral relations

CountryFormal Relations BeganNotes
France14 September 1979

See France–Saint Lucia relations

  • Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 22, 1979.
India1982

See 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.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54] 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.[55]

The Embassy of India in Paramaribo, Suriname is concurrently accredited to Saint Lucia.[56] 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.[57]

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.[58] 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.[56] 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.[57]

Mexico17 May 1979

See Mexico–Saint Lucia relations

  • Mexico has an embassy in Castries.[59]
  • Saint Lucia is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
Trinidad and Tobago22 February 1979

See Saint Lucia-Trinidad and Tobago relations

Taiwan7 May 1984, severed 29 August 1997, Restored 30 April 2007St. 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.[60] On 1 May 2007, St. Lucia regained diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).[61] Within a few days, the People's Republic of China suspended diplomatic relations.[62] On 4 June 2015, St. Lucia opened its embassy in Taipei, its first embassy in Asia.[63]
Turkey25 May 2005

See Saint Lucia–Turkey relations

United Kingdom1979

See Saint Lucia–United Kingdom relations

Saint Lucia established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom in 22 February 1979.[65] Both countries are Commonwealth Realms.

  • Saint Lucia maintains a high commission in London.[66]
  • The United Kingdom is accredited to its high commission in Castries.[67]

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.[68] Bilaterally the two countries have an Investment Agreement.[69]

United States11 June 1979

See Saint Lucia–United States relations

See also

References

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