Foreign relations of Palau

Palau gained its independence October 1, 1994 with the entry into force of the Compact of Free Association with the United States. Palau was the last Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands territories to gain its independence. Under the Compact, the U.S. remains responsible for Palau's defense for 50 years.

Palau is a sovereign nation and conducts its own foreign relations. From its independence until July 2019, Palau had established diplomatic relations with 101 countries.

Palau was admitted to the United Nations on December 15, 1994, and has since joined several other international organizations. In 2004, Stuart Beck was appointed to serve as Palau's first permanent representative to the United Nations. Along with the other former Trust Territories, Palau is one of a handful of countries that regularly votes with Israel in the United Nations General Assembly.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Palau maintains diplomatic relations with:

#	Country	Date [1]
1	Australia	1 October 1994
2	Federated States of Micronesia	1 October 1994
3	Papua New Guinea	1 October 1994
4	United States	1 October 1994
5	Israel	2 October 1994
6	Nauru	14 October 1994
7	Japan	2 November 1994
8	New Zealand	2 December 1994
9	South Korea	22 March 1995
10	India	10 April 1995
11	Kiribati	12 July 1995
12	Spain	3 August 1995
13	Sweden	9 August 1995
14	Portugal	17 May 1996
15	United Kingdom	16 August 1996
16	Netherlands	21 April 1997
17	Thailand	13 May 1997
18	Philippines	15 July 1997
19	Canada	25 August 1997
20	Germany	11 November 1997
21	France	25 November 1997
22	Marshall Islands	1 August 1998
—	Holy See	17 December 1998
23	Singapore	30 September 1999
24	Chile	24 November 1999
—	Republic of China	29 December 1999
25	Ireland	14 July 2000
26	Switzerland	31 August 2001
27	Mexico	17 October 2001
28	Italy	22 March 2002
29	Timor-Leste	16 August 2002
30	Czech Republic	17 September 2003
31	Greece	2 June 2004
32	Argentina	6 July 2004
33	South Africa	24 August 2004 [2]
34	Iceland	6 October 2004
35	Austria	16 November 2004
36	Brazil	31 January 2005
37	Qatar	17 February 2005 [3]
38	Turkey	2 May 2006
39	Russia	28 November 2006 [3]
40	Indonesia	6 July 2007 [4]
41	Slovakia	24 September 2007 [5]
42	Vietnam	18 August 2008 [6]
—	Kosovo	25 March 2009 [7]
43	Finland	5 May 2009 [3]
44	Morocco	8 May 2009 [3]
45	Solomon Islands	25 September 2009 [8]
46	Malaysia	5 October 2009 [9]
47	United Arab Emirates	16 October 2009 [3]
48	Cambodia	26 October 2009 [10]
49	Belgium	18 May 2010 [11]
50	Egypt	25 September 2010 [12]
51	Slovenia	18 February 2011 [13]
52	Georgia	17 October 2011 [14]
53	Monaco	26 October 2011 [3]
54	Brunei	16 December 2011 [15]
55	Poland	27 January 2012 [3]
56	Luxembourg	16 February 2012 [3]
57	Panama	18 April 2012 [16]
58	Kazakhstan	19 November 2012 [3]
59	Jordan	10 March 2013 [17]
—	Cook Islands	3 September 2013 [18]
60	Lithuania	25 September 2013 [3]
61	Mongolia	25 September 2013 [19]
62	Montenegro	25 September 2013 [3]
63	Estonia	8 November 2013 [20]
64	Maldives	17 October 2014 [3]
65	Latvia	20 March 2015 [3]
66	Seychelles	30 March 2015 [3]
67	Fiji	2 April 2015 [3]
68	Kuwait	26 May 2015 [3]
69	Cyprus	10 August 2015 [3]
70	Cuba	26 September 2015 [21]
71	Croatia	26 September 2015 [22]
72	Norway	31 May 2017 [23]
73	Hungary	18 September 2017 [24]
74	Armenia	21 September 2017 [3]
75	Tajikistan	30 January 2018 [3]
76	Azerbaijan	1 February 2018 [3]
77	Romania	16 February 2018 [25]
78	Mauritius	15 March 2018 [3]
79	Malta	17 July 2018 [3]
80	Andorra	25 September 2018 [3]
81	San Marino	26 September 2018 [26]
82	Bahrain	28 September 2018 [3]
83	Denmark	30 November 2018 [27]
84	Serbia	7 December 2018 [28]
85	Dominica	2018 [29]
86	Peru	14 February 2019 [30]
87	Nicaragua	17 June 2019 [3]
88	Bangladesh	16 July 2019 [3]
89	Kyrgyzstan	7 October 2021 [3]
90	Pakistan	22 November 2021 [3]
91	Moldova	6 December 2021 [3]
92	Nepal	21 March 2022 [3]
93	Paraguay	1 April 2022 [31]
94	Jamaica	28 April 2022 [32]
95	Bulgaria	7 July 2022 [3]
96	Tuvalu	15 July 2022 [33]
97	Cape Verde	22 September 2022 [3]
98	Ecuador	24 October 2022 [3]
99	Saudi Arabia	23 November 2022 [3]
100	Guatemala	19 January 2023 [34]
101	Dominican Republic	15 February 2023 [3]
102	Saint Kitts and Nevis	21 May 2024 [35]
103	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	21 May 2024 [36]
104	Ukraine	16 June 2024 [37]
105	Belize	25 September 2024 [38]
106	Bahamas	23 September 2025 [39]
107	Uzbekistan	26 September 2025 [40]
108	Antigua and Barbuda	September 2025 [41]
109	Benin	September 2025 [42]

Bilateral relations

Americas

Country	Notes
Mexico	Mexico is accredited to Palau from its embassy in Manila, Philippines. [43]
United States	See Palau–United States relations Both countries are members of the Compact of Free Association. Palau has an embassy in Washington, D.C. [44] United States has an embassy in Airai. [45]

Asia

Country	Notes
India	See India–Palau relations As per the Ministry of External Affairs of India, India established diplomatic relations with Palau in April 1995. Development assistance from India has included a grant of US$149,841 for purchase of kitchen equipment for Palau National Hospital, US $ in 2008 for purchase of a boat and two pick-up trucks, US$100,000 in June 2010 for purchase of computers and grant of 2 ITEC scholarships in 2010–11. Palau has been supportive of issues of importance to India, particularly Indian candidature to international organizations. It supported India's candidature for the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the 2011–12 term. Presently, there are about 15 Indian nationals in Palau. [46]
Israel	See Israel–Palau relations Palau established formal consular links with Israel, it was reported in early 2008.
Japan	See Japan–Palau relations Diplomatic relations between Japan and Palau were established in December 1994. Japan maintains an embassy at Koror. Japan is currently the second largest donor to Palau after the United States. Ministerial level visits are frequent between the two countries, and Palau is a popular tourist destination for Japanese travellers. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko made a state visit to Palau in April 2015. [47]
Philippines	See Palau–Philippines relations Both countries were incorporated by Spain in the Spanish East Indies, where the capital was Manila, during the 16th century and was formalized in Palau in the 17th century. Palau was a part, and was represented, in the congress of the First Philippine Republic., [48] but due to the German-Spanish Treaty was eventually handed over to Germany, ending Philippine-Palau relations during that period. Formal diplomatic relations were again made on July 15, 1997, after Palau became independent from the United States. Currently, there are at least 5,000 Filipinos working in Palau, and few of Palau's students are educated in the Philippines, notably in Mindanao's top universities. The Philippine embassy in Koror closed on July 31, 2012. Palau and the Philippines are currently discussing the bordering of their maritime borders to negate any future clashes on the matter.
South Korea	See Palau–South Korea States relations The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Palau and the Republic of Korea began on 22 March 1995. [49]
Taiwan	See Palau–Taiwan relations Palau has been strengthening relations with the Republic of China in economic and political relations since 1994. [50]

Europe

Country	Notes
Serbia	Palau–Serbia relations Both nations are members of the United Nations where they cooperate on issues of climate change. Two countries collaborate through their non-resident embassies in Tokyo. [51]
Spain	See Palau–Spain relations Palau was once part of the Spanish East Indies. Palau does not have an accreditation to Spain. Spain is accredited to Palau from its embassy in Manila, Philippines.
United Kingdom	See Palau–United Kingdom relations Palau established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 16 August 1996. Palau does not maintain an embassy in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is not accredited to Palau through an embassy; the UK develops relations through its embassy in Manila, Philippines. [52] Both countries share common membership of the United Nations, and the World Health Organization.

Oceania

Country	Notes
Australia	See Australia–Palau relations
Marshall Islands	See Marshall Islands-Palau relations The Marshall Islands and Palau share very good relations, as they are both bound by Compacts of Free Association with the United States.
Micronesia	See Federated States of Micronesia–Palau relations The Federated States of Micronesia and Palau share very good relations, as they are both bound by Compacts of Free Association with the United States.

Military relations

The Palau government has agreed to host a large United States Air Force high-frequency radar station in Palau, a Tactical Multi-Mission Over the Horizon Radar (TACMOR) system costing well over $100 million, which is expected to be operational in 2026. ^{[53] [54]}

Palau has participated in various U.S. military exercises over the years, including Exercise Valiant Shield. The first-launch in Palau of a Patriot surface-to-air missile by the U.S. took place in 2022 Valiant Shield, which also had the experimental deployment of A-10 Warthogs at Roman Tmetuchl International Airport. ^{[54] [55]}

See also

• Compact of Free Association
• List of diplomatic missions in Palau
• List of diplomatic missions of Palau
• Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

References

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External links

• Republic of Palau Mission to the United Nations
• Republic of Palau Honorary Consulate-General to the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
• Republic of Palau Honorary Consulate-General to Belgium

Representations of Palau to other nations

• Embassy of Palau in Washington D.C.
• Republic of Palau Honorary Consulate-General to the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
• Republic of Palau Honorary Consulate-General to Belgium

Representations of other nations to Palau

• Australian Embassy in Palau Note:Handles relations with Palau

Consular links with Israel :

• http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2008/January/01-04-11.htm