Foreign relations of Saint Lucia

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

St. 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.

Bilateral relations

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Armenia	17 October 2000	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 October 2000.
Belize	21 September 1981	Both countries have established diplomatic relations on 21 September 1981.[3] Both countries are full members of both Commonwealth of Nations and Association of Caribbean States.
Guyana	22 February 1979	Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 22, 1979.[4] Both countries are full members of the Organization of American States, of the Caribbean Community and of the Commonwealth of Nations.
India		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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] The Embassy of India in Paramaribo, Suriname is concurrently accredited to Saint Lucia.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[9] 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.[10]
Mexico	17 May 1979	See Mexico–Saint Lucia relations Mexico has an embassy in Castries.[12] Saint Lucia is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
Palestine	14 September 2015	Saint Lucia recognized and established diplomatic relations with Palestine in 2015 during a treaty signing ceremony in New York attended by both countries UN ambassadors where former St Lucian ambassador to the UN Melissa Rambally expressed solidarity with Palestine in a speech. Neither country has diplomatic missions to each other. Saint Lucia has supported Palestine on international forums several times, such as by voting for their status upgrade and flag raising in the UN.
Trinidad and Tobago		See Saint Lucia-Trinidad and Tobago relations Trinidad and Tobago has a consulate in Basseterre
South Korea	23 February 1979	The establishment of diplomatic relations Relations between the Republic of Korea and the Saint Lucia began on 23 February 1979.[13]
Taiwan	1 May 2007 (Regained)	St. 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.[14] On 1 May 2007, St. Lucia regained diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).[15] Within a few days, the People's Republic of China suspended diplomatic relations.[16] On 4 June 2015, St. Lucia opened its embassy in Taipei, its first embassy in Asia.[17]
United States		See Saint Lucia–United States relations Saint Lucia has an embassy in Washington, D.C.[18] United States is accredited to Saint Lucia from its embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados.[19]

Multilateral relations

Saint Lucia is a member of several international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

ACCT (associate), ACP, ALBA, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

See also

• List of diplomatic missions in Saint Lucia
• List of diplomatic missions of Saint Lucia
• Visa requirements for Saint Lucian citizens

References

1. Saint Lucia Press Release About New UN Ambassador. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
2. Richard Bernstein, "U.N. ASSEMBLY ADOPTS MEASURE 'DEEPLY DEPLORING' INVASION OF ISLE," New York Times, 3 November 1983. The other countries were the United States, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, El Salvador, Israel, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. Hyacinth-Gideon, C. (29 July 2014). Saint Lucia. Author House. ISBN 9781496984838. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
6. "Caribbean island of St. Lucia observes Indian Arrival Day". Business Standard India. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
7. "St. Lucia's Indian Arrival Day". Repeating Islands. May 7, 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
8. Harmsen, Jolien (2002). "THE EAST INDIAN LEGACY IN ST LUCIA". slucia.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
9. "Saint Lucia". Embassy of India, Paramaribo. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
10. "India-Saint Lucia Relations" (PDF). Ministry of External Affairs (India). December 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
11. "CIA - The World Factbook -- Saint Lucia". CIA. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
12. Embassy of Mexico in Saint Lucia
13. http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/countries/latinamerica/countries/20070803/1_24578.jsp?menu=m_30_30
14. "St. Lucia dumps PRC for Taiwan", The Taipei Times, 2007-04-26
15. 「台聖復交／加勒比海島國　人口17萬　出過兩位諾貝爾獎主」, ET today, 2007/05/01 10:37
16. China suspends ties with St Lucia, ChannelNewsAsia, 5/5/07
17. http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201506040011.aspx
18. Embassy of Saint Lucia in the United States
19. Embassy of the United States in Barbados