As part of the foreign relations of Suriname, the country is a participant in numerous international organizations. International tensions have arisen due to Suriname's status as a trans-shipment point for South American recreational drugs destined mostly for Europe.

Border disputes

The country claims an area in

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

between Litani River and

Marouini River The Malani (Dutch: Marowijnekreek; or ''Marouini'') is a river in the disputed area between French Guiana and Suriname. According to Suriname, it is the border river, however France considers the Litani the border. The river has its source at i ...

(both headwaters of the Lawa). Suriname also claims an area in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Koetari Rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne).

International organization participation

Suriname is a member of numerous international organizations. Among them, since gaining independence, Suriname has become a member of the UN, the

OAS OAS or Oas may refer to: Chemistry * O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis Computers * Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards * OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...

, and the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

. Suriname is a member of the

Caribbean Community and Common Market The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econom ...

and the Association of Caribbean States. It is associated with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

through the

Lome Convention Lome may refer to: Places * Lomé, the capital and largest city of Togo * Lome (woreda), a woreda in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia * Lome, Slovenia, a dispersed settlement in the Municipality of Idrija in the Inner Carniola region Other uses * Lom ...

. Suriname participates in the Amazonian Pact, a grouping of the countries of the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

that focuses on protection of the Amazon region's natural resources from environmental degradation. Reflecting its status as a major

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

producer, Suriname is a member of the International Bauxite Association. The country also belongs to the

Economic Commission for Latin America The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...

, the Caribbean Development Bank, the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

, the International Finance Corporation, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, and the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

. Suriname became a member of the Islamic Development Bank in 1998, under the Wijdenbosch government. In 2003, Suriname joined the Nederlandse Taalunie (

Dutch Language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

union).

Regional and international agreements

Bilateral agreements with several countries of the region, covering diverse areas of cooperation, have underscored the government's interest in strengthening regional ties. The return to Suriname from

of about 8,000 refugees of the 1986–91 civil war between the military and domestic insurgents has improved relations with French authorities. Longstanding border disputes with

and French Guiana remain unresolved. Negotiations with the Government of Guyana brokered by the Jamaican Prime Minister in 2000 did not produce an agreement but the countries agreed to restart talks after Guyanese national elections in 2001. In January 2002 the presidents of Suriname and Guyana met in Suriname and agreed to resume negotiations, establishing the Suriname-Guyana border commission to begin meeting in May 2002. An earlier dispute with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ended amicably after formal demarcation of the border. In May 1997, then-President Wijdenbosch joined US

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

and 14 other

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

leaders during the first-ever US-regional summit in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

, Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean - Outlining a framework for cooperation on justice and counter narcotics issues, finance, development, and trade.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Suriname maintains diplomatic relations:

Bilateral relations

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Suriname (Dutch) Permanent Mission of Suriname to the United Nations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Relations Of Suriname Government of Suriname Politics of Suriname