Foreign relations of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a sovereign entity maintaining diplomatic relations with over 100 states^[1] and has observer status or representation at multiple intergovernmental organisations.^[2]

The Order currently maintains diplomatic relations with 106 sovereign states (including the Holy See and Russia) and exchanges ambassadors with the European Union and the Palestinian Authority.^[1]^[2]

The Order has non-diplomatic official relations with 6 more states: France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Canada.

At least 5 other states maintain no relations with and do not recognize the passports of the Order:^[3]^[4] Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Greece.

Currently the Order has no established relations with:

Europe: Andorra, Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Estonia, Turkey, Azerbaijan
Middle East: Syria, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
Africa: Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho
Mongolia (accepts its stamps),^[5] Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan
Asia: PR China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives
Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Tuvalu, Palau, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa
The Americas: United States, Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador
the states with limited recognition listed here.

Bilateral relations

Diplomatic relations

Name	Diplomatic relations established^[6]	Region	Notes
Afghanistan	2000	Asia
Albania	1994	Europe
Angola	13 December 2005	Africa
Antigua and Barbuda	10 October 2009	Americas
Argentina	1949	Americas
Armenia	1998	Europe
Austria	1957	Europe
Bahamas	11 November 2008	Americas
Belarus	1996	Europe
Belize	2000	Americas
Benin	1972	Africa
Bolivia	1962	Americas
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1997	Europe
Brazil	1952	Americas
Bulgaria	1994	Europe
Burkina Faso	1973	Africa
Cambodia	1993	Asia
Cameroon	1961	Africa
Cape Verde	1996	Africa
Central African Republic	1981	Africa
Chad	1989	Africa
Chile	1956	Americas
Colombia	1957	Americas
Comoros	1981	Africa
Congo	1992	Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo	1984	Africa
Costa Rica	1958	Americas
Ivory Coast	1972	Africa
Croatia	22 December 1992^[7]	Europe
Cuba	1960	Americas
Cyprus	6 June 2012^[8]	Europe
Czech Republic	1990	Europe
Dominican Republic	1957	Americas
Timor-Leste	18 September 2006	Oceania
Egypt	1980	Africa
El Salvador	1951	Americas
Equatorial Guinea	1996	Africa
Eritrea	1999	Africa
Ethiopia	1970	Africa
European Union	1987	Europe	Ambassador level relations.^[2]
Gabon	1963	Africa
Georgia	1998	Europe
Grenada	6 November 2015	Americas	^[9]
Guatemala	1959	Americas
Guinea	1986	Africa
Guinea-Bissau	1997	Africa
Guyana	1999	Americas
Haiti	1947	Americas
Holy See	1930	Europe	formerly relations from 1113^[6]—^[when?].
Honduras	1959	Americas
Hungary	1990	Europe	formerly relations from 1923^[6]—^[when?].
Italy	1956	Europe	formerly relations from 1884-02-20^[6]—^[when?] and from 1935^[6]—^[when?].
Jordan	29 June 2003	Asia
Kazakhstan	1998	Asia
Kenya	14 September 2007	Africa
Kiribati	2002	Oceania
Latvia	1995	Europe
Lebanon	1954	Asia
Liberia	1959	Africa
Liechtenstein	1994	Europe
Lithuania	1997	Europe
Macedonia	1996	Europe
Madagascar	1990	Africa
Mali	1986	Africa
Malta	1966	Europe
Marshall Islands	2002	Oceania
Mauritania	1977	Africa
Mauritius	1977	Africa
Micronesia	12 November 1997^[10]	Oceania
Moldova	2000	Europe
Monaco	1957	Europe	Before 2009^[specify] relations with Monaco were maintained through a diplomatic special mission,^[11] but afterwards they were regularized.^[1]
Montenegro	5 September 2006	Europe
Morocco	1986	Africa
Mozambique	1997	Africa
Namibia	2009	Africa
Nicaragua	1953	Americas
Niger	1970	Africa
State of Palestine	September 2011	Asia	Ambassador level relations.^[1]
Panama	1948	Americas
Paraguay	1952	Americas
Peru	1954	Americas
Philippines	1965	Asia
Poland	9 July 1990^[12]	Europe
Portugal	1951	Europe
Romania	1992	Europe
Russia	7 August 1992^[13]	Europe	Relations with the Russian Federation are maintained through a diplomatic special mission.^[1]
Saint Lucia	1999	Americas
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1997	Americas
San Marino	1969	Europe
Sao Tome and Principe	1997	Africa
Senegal	1965	Africa
Serbia	2001	Europe
Seychelles	1992	Africa
Sierra Leone	2008	Africa
Slovakia	1990	Europe
Slovenia	1992	Europe
Somalia	1961	Africa
Spain	1937	Europe
Sudan	1993	Africa
South Sudan	12 November 2014	Africa	^[14]
Suriname	1999	Americas
Tajikistan	2001	Asia
Thailand	1984	Asia
Togo	1973	Africa
Turkmenistan	30 October 2007	Asia
Ukraine	9 February 2008	Europe
Uruguay	1965	Americas
Venezuela	1970	Americas

Official relations

Name	Official relations established	Region	Notes
Belgium	1960	Europe
Canada	4 June 2008	Americas
France	1982	Europe	formerly relations from 1924-08-28^[6]—^[when?]. France does not recognise the SMOM as a subject of international law.^[15]
Germany	1956	Europe
Luxembourg	1995	Europe
Switzerland	1960	Europe

No diplomatic relations

Name	Relations	Region	Notes
Ecuador	1954^[6]—May 2012^[1]^[6]	Americas	On 10 February 2012 President Correa issued a decree to withdraw recognition and initiate the process of canceling relations.^[16]^{[clarification needed]}

Intergovernmental organizations

The Order of Malta has observer status at the following organizations:^[2]

Organization	observer since	Notes
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization	1962^[6]
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations	1983^[6]
International Atomic Energy Agency	1983^[6]
United Nations General Assembly	24 August 1994^[6]
International Fund for Agricultural Development
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
World Food Programme
World Health Organization

The Order of Malta has delegations or representations to the following organizations:^[2]

Organization	participates since	Notes
Council of Europe	1975^[6]
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law	1984^[6]
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission
Inter-American Development Bank
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Committee of Military Medicine
International Committee of the Red Cross
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Institute of Humanitarian Law
International Organization for Migration
Latin Union

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Ordine di Malta. "Bilateral relations". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ordine di Malta. "Multilateral relations". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "SMOM Bilateral relations with countries". Orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
^ "Council of the European Union - Schengen Visa Working Party - Table of travel documents". Retrieved 2011-11-29.
^ [1] Sovereign Order of Malta — Associate Countries (Postal Agreements)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ SMOM diplomatic relations as of September 2012, WorldStatesmen.org
^ http://www.mfa.hr/MVP.asp?pcpid=1177
^ Ordine di Malta. "Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Sovereign Order of Malta formally established". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ https://www.orderofmalta.int/2015/11/12/establishment-of-diplomatic-relations-with-grenada/
^ "FSM Diplomatic Relations List". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ Monaco* ...Russia, Federation of* ... * Relations with these countries are maintained through a diplomatic special mission., 09.12.2008
^ Odpowiedź na zapytanie w sprawie stanu stosunków dyplomatycznych utrzymywanych przez Rzeczpospolitą Polską z Suwerennym Zakonem Rycerskim Szpitalników im. Jana Jerozolimskiego…
^ Великий магистр Мальтийского Ордена обеспокоен действиями лжерыцарей в Российской Федерации
^ https://www.orderofmalta.int/2014/11/17/the-order-of-malta-strengthens-its-action-in-south-sudan-three-years-after-the-birth-of-the-nation/
^ "The Sovereignty of the Order of Malta". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "La Orden Soberana de Malta". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[relations-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Ordine di Malta. "Bilateral relations". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[observer-2] Ordine di Malta. "Multilateral relations". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[3] "SMOM Bilateral relations with countries". Orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 2011-11-29.

[4] "Council of the European Union - Schengen Visa Working Party - Table of travel documents". Retrieved 2011-11-29.

[stamps-5] [1] Sovereign Order of Malta — Associate Countries (Postal Agreements)

[dates-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ SMOM diplomatic relations as of September 2012, WorldStatesmen.org

[7] ttp://www.mfa.hr/MVP.asp?pcpid=1177

[8] Ordine di Malta. "Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Sovereign Order of Malta formally established". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[9] ttps://www.orderofmalta.int/2015/11/12/establishment-of-diplomatic-relations-with-grenada/

[10] "FSM Diplomatic Relations List". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[11] Monaco* ...Russia, Federation of* ... * Relations with these countries are maintained through a diplomatic special mission., 09.12.2008

[12] Odpowiedź na zapytanie w sprawie stanu stosunków dyplomatycznych utrzymywanych przez Rzeczpospolitą Polską z Suwerennym Zakonem Rycerskim Szpitalników im. Jana Jerozolimskiego…

[13] Великий магистр Мальтийского Ордена обеспокоен действиями лжерыцарей в Российской Федерации

[14] ttps://www.orderofmalta.int/2014/11/17/the-order-of-malta-strengthens-its-action-in-south-sudan-three-years-after-the-birth-of-the-nation/

[15] "The Sovereignty of the Order of Malta". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[16] "La Orden Soberana de Malta". Retrieved 20 February 2015.

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v t e Foreign relations of Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Kosovo Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria
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Other entities	European Union Sovereign Military Order of Malta