Liechtenstein's foreign economic policy has been dominated by its customs union with Switzerland (and with Austria-Hungary until World War I). This union also led to its independent membership in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1991. Unlike Switzerland however (where citizens rejected membership in a referendum), Liechtenstein is part of the European Economic Area.
Liechtenstein was admitted to the United Nations in 1990. It is not a member of most specialized agencies of the United Nations, with the exceptions of the International Telecommunication Union, the Universal Postal Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Liechtenstein has resorted two times to international dispute settlement by the International Court of Justice, in the Nottebohm (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala) case against Guatemala in the 1950s and in a case concerning art property of the Liechtenstein family against Germany in 2005. It lost in both cases.
Liechtenstein maintains resident embassies in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Holy See, Switzerland and the United States, along with a number of missions to international organisations. Under a 1919 agreement between Liechtenstein and Switzerland, ambassadors of Switzerland are authorised to represent Liechtenstein in countries and in diplomatic situations unless Liechtenstein opts to send its own ambassador. [1] As of 2024, Liechtenstein has diplomatic relations with 133 UN countries. [2]
The country has an international dispute with Czech Republic and Slovakia concerning the estates of its princely family in those countries. After World War II, Czechoslovakia, as it then was, acting to seize what it considered to be German possessions, expropriated the entirety of the Liechtenstein dynasty's hereditary lands and possessions in the Czech regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. The expropriations (which were the subject of an unsuccessful court case brought by Liechtenstein in the German courts and the International Court of Justice) included over 1,600 km² [ citation needed ] (which is ten times the size of Liechtenstein) of agricultural and forest land mostly in Moravia, also including several family castles and palaces. An offer from the Czech Republic to return the palaces and castles (without the surrounding land) was rejected by Liechtenstein. [3]
Liechtenstein recognised and established diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic on 13 July 2009 [4] [5] [6] and with Slovakia on 9 December 2009. [7] Liechtenstein's ruling prince, Hans-Adam II, has announced that the principality will take no further legal action to recover the appropriated assets. [3]
In February 2020, the Czech Constitutional court in Brno rejected a case made by Liechtenstein to get the Czech government to change their classification of the Liechtenstein dynasty as German under the Beneš Decrees. [8] On 19 August 2020, an inter-state application under the European Convention on Human Rights was made by Liechtenstein to the European Court of Human Rights against the Czech Republic. [9]
List of countries which Liechtenstein maintains diplomatic relations with:
# | Country | Date |
---|---|---|
1 | Switzerland | March 1919 [10] |
2 | Austria | 24 May 1919 [11] |
3 | China | 14 September 1950 [12] |
— | Holy See | 28 August 1985 [13] |
4 | Estonia | 4 September 1991 [14] |
5 | Spain | 29 November 1991 [15] |
6 | Azerbaijan | 21 January 1992 [16] |
7 | Slovenia | 31 January 1992 [17] |
8 | Germany | January 1992 [18] |
9 | Israel | January 1992 [19] |
10 | Croatia | 4 February 1992 [20] |
11 | Portugal | 6 February 1992 [21] |
12 | Ukraine | 6 February 1992 [22] |
13 | Belarus | 10 February 1992 [23] |
14 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 May 1992 [24] |
15 | United Kingdom | May 1992 [25] |
16 | Georgia | 10 June 1992 [26] |
17 | Poland | 25 June 1992 [27] |
18 | Finland | 26 June 1992 [28] |
19 | France | 27 August 1992 [29] |
20 | Turkey | 2 October 1992 [30] |
21 | Denmark | 1992 [31] |
22 | Iceland | 1992 [32] |
23 | South Korea | 2 March 1993 [33] |
24 | Albania | 23 April 1993 [34] |
25 | Brazil | 29 April 1993 [35] |
26 | Hungary | 18 September 1993 [36] |
27 | North Macedonia | 31 December 1993 [37] |
28 | Belgium | 1993 [38] |
29 | India | 1993 [39] |
30 | Norway | 1993 [40] |
31 | South Africa | 1993 [41] |
32 | Russia | 30 January 1994 [42] |
33 | Bulgaria | 26 April 1994 [43] |
34 | Mexico | 1 July 1994 [44] |
— | Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 1994 [45] |
35 | Andorra | 1 September 1995 [46] |
36 | Philippines | 24 November 1995 [47] |
37 | Italy | 11 December 1995 [48] |
38 | Monaco | 16 February 1996 [49] |
39 | Canada | 12 March 1996 [50] |
40 | Japan | June 1996 [51] |
41 | Peru | 5 July 1996 [52] |
42 | Latvia | 3 December 1996 [53] |
43 | United States | 10 February 1997 [54] |
44 | Cuba | 11 June 1997 [55] |
45 | Thailand | 14 August 1997 [56] |
46 | Romania | 12 December 1997 [57] |
47 | Australia | 1997 [58] |
48 | Mongolia | 18 March 1998 [59] |
49 | Iran | 14 August 1998 [60] |
50 | Indonesia | 12 November 1998 [61] |
51 | Kyrgyzstan | 16 September 1999 [62] |
52 | Uruguay | 30 September 1999 [63] |
53 | Costa Rica | 12 January 2000 [64] |
54 | Lebanon | 9 June 2000 [63] |
55 | Greece | 4 October 2000 [63] |
56 | Netherlands | 6 November 2000 [63] |
57 | Luxembourg | 6 November 2000 [63] |
58 | Lithuania | 27 March 2001 [65] |
59 | Moldova | 14 August 2001 [66] |
60 | Colombia | 24 October 2001 [67] |
61 | Sweden | 24 October 2001 [63] |
62 | Ireland | 24 October 2001 [63] |
63 | Cyprus | 3 April 2002 [63] |
64 | North Korea | 2 May 2002 [68] |
65 | Argentina | 14 August 2002 [63] |
66 | Serbia | 4 April 2003 [69] |
67 | Malta | 12 May 2003 [70] |
68 | Morocco | 14 August 2003 [71] |
69 | Pakistan | 14 August 2003 [71] |
70 | Ecuador | 3 October 2003 [71] |
71 | Laos | 8 January 2004 [72] |
72 | Malaysia | July 2004 [73] |
74 | Chile | 16 April 2004 [71] |
75 | Venezuela | 13 August 2004 [71] |
76 | Bahrain | 1 April 2005 [74] |
77 | Egypt | 17 October 2005 [71] |
78 | Algeria | 21 October 2005 [75] |
79 | Kazakhstan | 31 January 2007 [76] |
80 | Montenegro | 26 March 2007 [77] |
81 | Paraguay | 2007 [78] |
82 | Saudi Arabia | 2007 [79] |
83 | Tajikistan | 28 January 2008 [80] |
84 | Armenia | 7 May 2008 [81] |
85 | Kuwait | 16 June 2008 [82] |
86 | Vietnam | 2 July 2008 [83] |
87 | Niger | 17 December 2008 [84] |
88 | United Arab Emirates | 22 October 2009 [85] |
89 | Czech Republic | 8 September 2009 [86] |
90 | Slovakia | 9 December 2009 [87] |
91 | Singapore | 19 April 2010 [85] |
92 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2010 [88] |
93 | Maldives | 21 January 2011 [89] |
94 | Cambodia | 8 June 2011 [90] |
95 | San Marino | 21 October 2011 [91] |
96 | Brunei | 15 November 2011 [92] |
97 | Nigeria | 2011 [93] |
98 | Panama | 3 January 2012 [94] |
99 | Tuvalu | 1 June 2012 [95] |
— | Kosovo | 28 June 2012 [96] |
100 | Solomon Islands | 2012 [97] |
101 | Nicaragua | 23 February 2013 [98] |
102 | New Zealand | 2013 [99] |
103 | Qatar | 2013 [99] |
104 | Trinidad and Tobago | 31 January 2014 [85] |
105 | Ivory Coast | 14 March 2014 [85] |
106 | Fiji | 30 July 2014 [85] |
107 | Guinea | 11 December 2015 [100] [101] |
108 | Guatemala | 22 December 2015 [102] |
109 | El Salvador | 2015 [100] |
110 | Rwanda | 10 November 2016 [103] [104] |
111 | Sudan | 2016 [103] |
112 | Mauritius | 12 May 2017 [85] |
113 | Tunisia | 12 May 2017 [104] |
114 | Nepal | 24 November 2017 [85] |
115 | Antigua and Barbuda | 25 September 2018 [85] |
116 | Afghanistan | 26 October 2018 [105] |
117 | Benin | 2018 [106] |
118 | Equatorial Guinea | 2018 [106] |
119 | Chad | 26 June 2019 [107] |
120 | Marshall Islands | 24 September 2019 [108] |
121 | Dominican Republic | 26 September 2019 [109] |
122 | Ghana | 19 December 2019 [85] |
123 | Sri Lanka | 5 March 2021 [85] |
124 | Angola | 23 June 2021 [110] [107] |
125 | Namibia | 22 September 2021 [110] [111] |
126 | Bolivia | 17 November 2021 [112] |
127 | Senegal | 2021 [110] |
128 | Kenya | 29 April 2022 [107] |
129 | Jamaica | 18 September 2023 [85] |
130 | Saint Lucia | 20 September 2023 [85] |
131 | Oman | 4 March 2024 [113] |
132 | Uzbekistan | 5 March 2024 [114] |
133 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Unknown |
Country | Formal relations began on | Notes |
---|---|---|
Mexico | 1 July 1994 [115] |
|
United States | 10 February 1997 [117] | See Liechtenstein–United States relations
|
Country | Formal relations began on | Notes |
---|---|---|
Hong Kong | See Hong Kong–Liechtenstein relations | |
India | 1993 [120] | See India–Liechtenstein relations |
Japan | June 1996 [51] | See Japan–Liechtenstein relations |
Turkey | 2 October 1992 [122] |
|
Country | Formal relations began on | Notes |
---|---|---|
France | 27 August 1992 [29] | See France–Liechtenstein relations
|
Germany | 14 January 1992 | See Germany–Liechtenstein relations
|
Russia | 30 January 1994 [128] | See Liechtenstein–Russia relations |
Switzerland | 13 August 1919 | See Liechtenstein–Switzerland relations
|
Ukraine | 6 February 1992 [22] | See Liechtenstein–Ukraine relations
|
United Kingdom | May 1992 [25] | See Liechtenstein–United Kingdom relations
|
Liechtenstein is a member of the following international organizations:
Liechtenstein was never a member of the League of Nations. Its application to join that international organisation was refused in 1920 due to its small size. [133] While included in the Schengen Area, Liechtenstein is not a member of the European Union.
The foreign relations of Angola are based on Angola's strong support of U.S. foreign policy as the Angolan economy is dependent on U.S. foreign aid. From 1975 to 1989, Angola was aligned with the Eastern bloc, in particular the Soviet Union, Libya, and Cuba. Since then, it has focused on improving relationships with Western countries, cultivating links with other Portuguese-speaking countries, and asserting its own national interests in Central Africa through military and diplomatic intervention. In 1993, it established formal diplomatic relations with the United States. It has entered the Southern African Development Community as a vehicle for improving ties with its largely Anglophone neighbors to the south. Zimbabwe and Namibia joined Angola in its military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Angolan troops remain in support of the Joseph Kabila government. It also has intervened in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) in support of Denis Sassou-Nguesso in the civil war.
Cape Verde follows a policy of nonalignment and seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states. Angola, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, France, Germany, Portugal, Senegal, Russia, South Korea and the United States maintain embassies in Praia.
Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the regional and international arena. Chile assumed a two-year non-permanent position on the UN Security Council in January 2003 and was re-elected to the council in October 2013. It is also an active member of the UN family of agencies, serving as a member of the Commission on Human Rights and participating in UN peacekeeping activities. Chile hosted the second Summit of the Americas in 1998, was the chair of the Rio Group in 2001, hosted the Defense Ministerial of the Americas in 2002, and the APEC summit and related meetings in 2004. In 2005 it hosted the Community of Democracies ministerial conference. It is an associate member of Mercosur and a full member of APEC. The OECD agreed to invite Chile to be among four countries to open discussions in becoming an official member.
Costa Rica is an active member of the international community and, in 1983, claimed it was for neutrality. Due to certain powerful constituencies favoring its methods, it has a weight in world affairs far beyond its size. The country lobbied aggressively for the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and became the first nation to recognize the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Human Rights Court, based in San José.
The Czech Republic is a Central European country, a member of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations. It entertains diplomatic relations with 191 countries of the world, around half of which maintain a resident embassy in the Czech capital city, Prague.
The foreign relations of the Dominican Republic are the Dominican Republic's relations with other governments.
This article describes the diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and international relations of Ecuador
The Foreign relations of Egypt are the Egyptian government's external relations with the outside world. Egypt's foreign policy operates along a non-aligned level. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in the Africa, the Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, and within the Non-Aligned Movement as a whole. Cairo has been a crossroads of the Mediterranean's, Africa's and Asia's commerce and culture for millenia, and its intellectual and religious institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural landmarks.
The government's official policy is one of nonalignment. In its search for assistance to meet the goal of national reconstruction, the government of Equatorial Guinea has established diplomatic relations with numerous European and Third World countries. Having achieved independence under UN sponsorship, Equatorial Guinea feels a special kinship with that organization. It became the 126th UN member on November 12, 1968. Equatorial Guinea served as a non-permanent member on the United Nations Security Council from 2017 to 2019.
The United States, Venezuela, Cuba, and the People's Republic of China have embassies in Grenada. Grenada has been recognized by most members of the United Nations and maintains diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, and Canada.
Honduras is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the Central American Security Commission (CASQ). During 1995-96, Honduras, a founding member of the United Nations, for the first time served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Honduras is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military.
Paraguayan foreign policy has concentrated on maintaining good relations with its neighbors, and it has been an active proponent of regional co-operation. It is a member of the United Nations and has served one term in the UN Security Council in 1967-1969. It maintains membership in several international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. It also belongs to the Organization of American States, the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), the Rio Group, INTERPOL, MERCOSUR and UNASUR.
The foreign relations of Peru are managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. is an important first-tier state in South America, Peru has been a member of the United Nations since 1945, and Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar served as UN Secretary General from 1981 to 1991. Former President Alberto Fujimori's tainted re-election to a third term in June 2000 strained Peru's relations with the United States and with many Latin American and European countries, mainly small countries like Yemen but relations improved with the installation of an interim government in November 2000 and the inauguration of Alejandro Toledo in July 2001.
Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has maintained Tunisia's long-time policy of seeking good relations with the West, while playing an active role in Arab and African regional bodies. President Habib Bourguiba took a nonaligned stance but emphasized close relations with Europe, Pakistan, and the United States.
This article deals with the diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and international relations of Uruguay. At the political level, these matters are officially handled by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, also known as Cancillería, which answers to the President.
Foreign relations of Portugal are linked with its historical role as a major player in the Age of Discovery and the holder of the now defunct Portuguese Empire. Portugal is a European Union member country and a founding member of NATO. It is a committed proponent of European integration and transatlantic relations. João Gomes Cravinho is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
After seizing power in the 1972 coup d'état, Major Mathieu Kérékou declared the People's Republic of Benin a Marxist-Leninist state and sought financial support from communist governments in Eastern Europe and Asia. To distance the modern state from its colonial past, the country became the People's Republic of Benin in 1975. However, Benin dropped the socialist ideology in 1989 following pressure from creditors and domestic unrest related to economic hardship.
Bolivia traditionally has maintained normal diplomatic relations with all hemispheric states except Chile. Foreign relations are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by the Chancellor of Bolivia, Rogelio Mayta.
The Principality of Monaco is a sovereign and independent state, linked closely to France by the Treaty of July 1918, which was formally noted in Article 436 of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. The foreign policy of Monaco is one illustration of this accord: France has agreed to defend the independence and sovereignty of Monaco, while the Monegasque Government has agreed to exercise its sovereign rights in conformity with French interests, whilst at the same time maintaining complete independence. Since then, the relations between the sovereign states of France and Monaco have been further defined in the Treaty of 1945 and the Agreement of 1963.
The 1955 Austrian State Treaty ended the four-power occupation and recognized Austria as an independent and sovereign state. In October 1955, the Federal Assembly passed a constitutional law in which "Austria declares of her own free will her perpetual neutrality." The second section of this law stated that "in all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory." Since then, Austria has shaped its foreign policy on the basis of neutrality.