Foreign relations of Cameroon

Cameroon's noncontentious, low-profile approach to foreign relations puts it squarely in the middle of other African and developing country states on major issues. It supports the principles of non-interference in the affairs of developing countries and increased assistance to underdeveloped countries. Cameroon is an active participant in the United Nations, where its voting record demonstrates its commitment to causes that include international peacekeeping, the rule of law, environmental protection, and Third World economic development. In the UN and other human rights fora, Cameroon's non-confrontational approach has generally led it to avoid criticizing other countries.

Cameroon enjoys good relations with France, the United States and other developed countries. Cameroon enjoys generally good relations with its African neighbors. It supports UN peacekeeping activities in Central Africa.

International disputes

Delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is complete and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Nigeria over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula and Lake Chad is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as is a dispute with Equatorial Guinea over the exclusive maritime economic zone. As of 10 October 2012, it has been resolved that Cameroon own Bakassi.

Cameroon also faces a complaint filed with the African Commission on Human Rights by the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the Southern Cameroons Peoples Organization (SCAPO) against the Government of the Republic of Cameroon, in which the complainants allege that the Republic of Cameroon is illegally occupying the territory of Southern Cameroons. The SCNC and SCAPO ultimately seek the independence of the territory of Southern Cameroons.^[1] As of 2008, both parties have submitted briefs and responded to the Human Rights Commissions' inquiries. A ruling by the African Commission on Human Rights is awaited.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Cameroon maintains diplomatic relations with:

#	Country	Date
1	France	1 January 1960[2]
2	Germany	1 January 1960[3]
3	Japan	1 January 1960[4]
4	United States	1 January 1960[5]
5	Finland	17 January 1960[6]
6	United Kingdom	1 February 1960[7]
7	Israel	15 September 1960[8]
8	Liberia	23 November 1960[9]
9	Nigeria	November 1960[10]
10	Burkina Faso	1960[11]
11	Central African Republic	1960[11]
12	Denmark	1960[12]
13	Mauritania	1960[11]
14	Senegal	1960[13]
15	Egypt	7 January 1961[14]
16	Tunisia	18 February 1961[15]
17	South Korea	10 August 1961[16]
18	Switzerland	9 November 1961[17]
19	Spain	10 November 1961[18]
20	Netherlands	2 December 1961[19]
21	Canada	7 December 1961[20]
22	Philippines	11 December 1961[21]
23	Italy	28 February 1962[22]
24	Belgium	14 March 1962[23]
25	Luxembourg	7 June 1962[24]
26	Turkey	11 October 1962[25][26]
27	Mali	13 October 1962[27][28]
28	Ivory Coast	26 November 1962[29]
29	Republic of the Congo	29 November 1962[30]
30	Chad	1962[31]
31	Lebanon	1962[32]
32	Pakistan	1962[33]
33	Gabon	1 February 1963[34]
34	India	4 April 1963[35]
35	Sudan	12 July 1963[36]
36	Ethiopia	9 August 1963[37]
37	Ghana	20 August 1963[38]
38	Guinea	13 September 1963[39]
39	Algeria	1 January 1964[40]
40	Russia	18 February 1964[41]
41	Chile	11 August 1964[42]
42	Syria	29 November 1964[43]
43	Norway	15 June 1965[44]
44	Democratic Republic of Congo	21 June 1965[45]
45	Thailand	20 July 1965[46]
46	Morocco	13 August 1965[47]
47	Sweden	24 September 1965[48][49]
48	Serbia	12 December 1965[50]
49	Gambia	1965[11]
—	Holy See	27 August 1966[51]
50	Saudi Arabia	6 October 1966[52]
51	Austria	29 March 1968[53]
52	Equatorial Guinea	27 October 1968[54]
53	Lesotho	29 October 1968[55]
54	Libya	3 August 1969[56]
55	Romania	14 May 1970[57]
56	China	26 March 1971[58]
57	North Korea	3 March 1972[59]
58	Poland	14 March 1972[60]
59	Zambia	21 April 1972[61]
60	Vietnam	30 August 1972[62]
61	Tanzania	August 1972[63]
62	Uganda	August 1972[63]
63	Kenya	5 September 1972[64]
64	Cambodia	13 October 1972[65]
65	Benin	5 March 1973[66]
66	Greece	28 April 1973[67]
67	Albania	20 August 1973[68]
68	Niger	13 February 1974[69]
69	Rwanda	11 March 1974[70]
70	Costa Rica	3 April 1974[71][72]
71	Cuba	31 August 1974[73]
72	Malawi	10 September 1974[74]
73	Cyprus	1974[75]
74	Argentina	2 January 1975[76]
75	United Arab Emirates	24 February 1975[77]
76	Qatar	26 February 1975[77]
77	Bahrain	27 February 1975[77]
78	Iran	10 March 1975[78]
79	São Tomé and Príncipe	14 July 1975[79]
80	Kuwait	22 September 1975[80]
81	Mozambique	9 December 1975[81]
82	Mexico	23 December 1975[82]
83	Iraq	1975[33]
84	Sierra Leone	30 September 1976[83]
85	Trinidad and Tobago	19 December 1976[84]
86	Brazil	1976[85]
87	Portugal	12 February 1977[86]
88	Djibouti	22 January 1978[87]
89	Angola	21 August 1979[88]
90	Burundi	1 August 1980[89]
91	Haiti	11 January 1981[90]
92	Vanuatu	1 November 1981[91]
93	Bulgaria	24 February 1984[92]
94	Panama	14 August 1984[93]
95	Hungary	21 January 1987[94]
96	Colombia	8 March 1989[86]
97	Namibia	10 July 1990[95]
98	Czech Republic	27 September 1990[96]
99	Zimbabwe	28 February 1991[97][98]
100	Malaysia	1 March 1991[99]
101	Venezuela	25 June 1991[86]
102	Jamaica	26 September 1991[86]
103	Singapore	30 September 1991[100]
104	Bahamas	4 October 1991[86]
105	Indonesia	16 June 1992[101]
106	Guatemala	14 April 1993[86]
107	Ukraine	21 October 1993[102]
108	Slovakia	15 November 1993[103]
109	Paraguay	3 December 1993[86]
110	South Africa	29 April 1994[86]
111	Azerbaijan	24 September 1995[86]
112	Slovenia	29 September 1998[104]
113	Oman	30 November 1998[77]
114	North Macedonia	6 April 2001[86]
115	Australia	2 March 2002[105]
116	Croatia	18 October 2002[86]
117	Timor-Leste	20 May 2003[86]
118	Malta	27 January 2006[86]
119	Tajikistan	3 March 2006[106]
120	Estonia	27 July 2006[107]
121	Belarus	14 November 2006[108]
122	Ireland	23 April 2007[86]
123	Armenia	28 May 2007[109]
124	Iceland	19 September 2007[86]
125	Kazakhstan	14 May 2009[110]
126	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10 September 2009[111]
127	Andorra	21 October 2010[112]
128	Lithuania	16 September 2013[86]
129	Georgia	26 September 2013[86]
130	Mongolia	2 April 2015[86]
131	Latvia	16 April 2015[86]
132	Uruguay	18 December 2017[86]
133	Moldova	27 March 2019[86]
134	Kyrgyzstan	27 September 2019[86]
135	Nicaragua	1 November 2019[86]
136	Saint Kitts and Nevis	9 June 2021[113]
137	Nepal	22 June 2023[86]
138	Bangladesh	Unknown
139	Cape Verde	Unknown
140	Guinea-Bissau	Unknown
141	Madagascar	Unknown
142	New Zealand	Unknown
143	Peru	Unknown
144	Togo	Unknown

Bilateral relations

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Australia	2 March 2002	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 2 March 2002[105] Both countries are full members of The Commonwealth. Cameroon is accredited to Australia through its embassy in Tokyo, Japan.[114] Australia is represented in Cameroon through its High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.
Canada	7 December 1961	Cameroon and Canada have established diplomatic ties on 7 December 1961[115] with three agreements and four protocoles signed in 1965. Both countries share the use of English and French as the two official languages as well as memberships in the Francophonie and The Commonwealth. Cameroon has a high commission in Ottawa.[116] Canada has a high commission in Yaoundé.[117]
Chile	11 August 1964	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 11 August 1964[118]
China	26 March 1971	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 26 March 1971[119] See also: Cameroon–China relations The People's Republic of China has a number of health and infrastructure projects underway in Cameroon. In January 2007, China signed a series of economic agreements with Cameroon, giving more than $54 million in loans.,[120] China constructed the multipurpose sports complex in Yaounde and renovated the famous Amadou Ahidjo stadium.
Cote d'Ivoire	3 September 1962	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 September 1962[29] Cameroon has an embassy in Abidjan. Côte d'Ivoire has an embassy in Yaounde which also functions as the non-resident embassy to Central African Republic.[121]
France	1 January 1960	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 January 1960[122] Cameroon has particularly close ties with France, with whom it has numerous military, economic, and cultural agreements, the construction of the Bonaberi bridge in Douala is pioneered by the French and they are to exploit uranium discovered in the North by 2018.
Israel	15 September 1960	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 September 1960,[8] but relations was broken on 13 October 1973[123] and re-established diplomatic relations on 26 August 1986[124] See also: Cameroon–Israel relations Cameroon's Rapid Reaction Force is trained and armed by Israel, and Cameroon supports Israel in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) draft resolution votes. Many citizens of Cameroon receive training and education in agriculture in Israel. The Israeli ambassador described Cameroon as Israel's best friend in Africa. Additionally, Cameroon strongly opposes the existence of and antagonizes Palestine and is one of only two nations in Africa not to have yet recognized it[125]
Mexico	22 December 1975	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 22 December 1975[126] Cameroon is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States[127] with a consulate in Mexico City. Mexico is accredited to Cameroon from its embassy in Abuja, Nigeria[128] with a consulate in Yaoundé.
Nigeria	November 1960	Both countries established diplomatic relations in November 1960[129] See also: Cameroon–Nigeria relations Cameroon is engaged in a sporadic armed conflict with Nigeria in the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. The dispute was resolved through the 2006 Greentree Agreement which led to the full withdrawal of Nigerian troops from the region and its administrative transfer back to Cameroon in August 2013.[130] The two countries agree on maritime delimitation.Economic relations between both states are however timid, the uprise of the Boko Haram terrorists group called for military co-operation between Cameroon and Nigeria.
Russia	20 February 1964	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 20 February 1964[131] See also: Cameroon–Russia relations Cameroon has an embassy in Moscow. Russia has an embassy in Yaoundé.
South Korea	10 August 1961	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 10 August 1961.[132] In 2012 Bilateral Trade was US$64 million[133]
Spain	10 November 1961	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 10 November 1961[134] See also: Cameroon–Spain relations
Turkey	9 August 1963	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 9 August 1963[135] Cameroon has an embassy in Ankara Turkey has an embassy in Yaoundé Trade volume between the two countries was US$205 million in 2019 (Cameroon's exports/imports: 54/151 million USD).[136] There are direct flights from Istanbul to Yaoundé.
United Kingdom	1 February 1960	See Foreign relations of the United Kingdom Cameroon established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 1 February 1960.[7] Botswana maintains a high commission in London. The United Kingdom is accredited to Cameroon through its high commission in Yaoundé.[137] The UK governed western Cameroon from 1916 to 1961, when it joined the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth, and the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have an Economic Partnership Agreement.[138]
United States	1 January 1960	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 January 1960[139] See also: Cameroon–United States relations Cameroon has an embassy in Washington, D.C.[140] United States has an embassy in Yaoundé.[141]
Vietnam	30 August 1972	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 30 August 1972.[142] Vietnam is represented in Cameroon through a non-resident embassy in Abuja, Nigeria and an honorary consulate in Douala.[143][144] In 2014 Nexttel, Joint operative company of Viettel becomes the First 3G operator in Cameroon.[145]

Multilateral relations

In addition to the United Nations, Cameroon is very active in other multilateral organisations or global institutions such as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, The Commonwealth, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States.

See also

• List of diplomatic missions in Cameroon
• List of diplomatic missions of Cameroon