# Foreign relations of Burkina Faso

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Burkina Faso has good relations with the European Union, African and certain Asian countries.
According to the U.S. State Department, "U.S. relations with Burkina Faso are good but subject to strains in the past because of the Compaoré government's past involvement in arms trading and other sanctions-breaking activity." Burkina Faso cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in May 2018 (being the most populous state to do so in the 21st century) and the foreign ministry of China stated it approved of its decision.
Burkina Faso's relations with its West African neighbors have improved in recent years. Relations with Ghana, in particular, have warmed. President Compaoré had mediated a political crisis in Togo and helped to resolve the Tuareg conflict in Niger. Burkina maintains cordial relations with Libya, but recalled its in ambassador in 2017 over issues of treatment of migrants trying to reach Europe, and the reemergence of the slave trade there. A territorial dispute with Mali was mediated by Ghana and Nigeria, which has led to lessening of tensions between the two nations.
Nineteen provinces of Burkina Faso are joined with contiguous areas of Mali and Niger under the Liptako–Gourma Authority, a regional economic organization. As of 7/6/24, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have turned away from the West African bloc ECOWAS to pursue their own confederation of junta states, which they claim is to create a "community of sovereign peoples far from the control of foreign powers. A community of peace, solidarity, prosperity based on our African values."
Burkina Faso is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a bilateral immunity agreement of protection for the United States-military (as covered under Article 98).

## Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Burkina Faso maintains diplomatic relations with:
Date :
| 1 | France | 4 August 1960 |
| 2 | Germany | 4 August 1960 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 6 October 1960 |
| 4 | United States | 5 August 1960 |
| 5 | Japan | 1960 |
| 6 | Mali | 18 March 1961 |
| 7 | Ghana | 12 June 1961 |
| 8 | Israel | 5 July 1961 |
| 9 | Egypt | 23 September 1961 |
| 10 | Belgium | 17 October 1961 |
| 11 | Switzerland | 17 October 1961 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 14 December 1961 |
| 13 | Liberia | 1961 |
| 14 | Sierra Leone | 1961 |
| 15 | India | 23 March 1962 |
| 16 | South Korea | 20 April 1962 |
| 17 | Canada | 27 April 1962 |
| 18 | Italy | 16 June 1962 |
| 19 | Lebanon | 1962 |
| 20 | Luxembourg | 29 January 1963 |
| 21 | Guinea | 1963 |
| 22 | Spain | 27 November 1964 |
| 23 | Sudan | 1964 |
| 24 | Tunisia | 1964 |
| 25 | Morocco | 21 October 1965 |
| 26 | Gabon | 11 November 1965 |
| 27 | Peru | March 1966 |
| 28 | Ivory Coast | 30 December 1966 |
| 29 | Algeria | 10 January 1967 |
| 30 | Russia | 18 February 1967 |
| 31 | Ethiopia | 11 April 1968 |
| 32 | Romania | 13 April 1968 |
| 33 | Bulgaria | 29 May 1968 |
| 34 | Czech Republic | 3 June 1968 |
| 35 | Hungary | 8 June 1968 |
| 36 | Poland | 15 June 1968 |
| 37 | Serbia | 8 July 1968 |
| 38 | Sweden | 1969 |
| 39 | Nigeria | 19 February 1970 |
| 40 | Turkey | 6 April 1970 |
| 41 | Austria | 9 December 1970 |
| 42 | Senegal | 27 December 1971 |
| 43 | Denmark | 1971 |
| 44 | North Korea | 11 October 1972 |
| — | Holy See | 14 June 1973 |
| 45 | China | 15 September 1973 |
| 46 | Vietnam | 16 November 1973 |
| — | Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 1973 |
| 47 | Bangladesh | 10 July 1974 |
| 48 | Kuwait | 17 August 1975 |
| 49 | Jamaica | 20 September 1975 |
| 50 | Argentina | 26 September 1975 |
| 51 | Brazil | 8 October 1975 |
| 52 | Rwanda | 26 November 1975 |
| 53 | Cuba | 11 December 1975 |
| 54 | Uganda | 26 May 1976 |
| 55 | Mexico | 30 June 1976 |
| 56 | Albania | 15 January 1977 |
| 57 | United Arab Emirates | 16 January 1978 |
| 58 | Portugal | 7 July 1978 |
| 59 | Greece | 1978 |
| 60 | Finland | 15 February 1980 |
| 61 | Norway | 3 March 1980 |
| 62 | Saudi Arabia | 25 March 1980 |
| 63 | Libya | 12 January 1981 |
| 64 | Niger | 30 June 1981 |
| 65 | Guinea-Bissau | 18 August 1981 |
| 66 | Togo | 18 August 1981 |
| 67 | Oman | 5 October 1981 |
| 68 | Iraq | 16 August 1982 |
| 69 | Nicaragua | 30 November 1983 |
| 70 | Iran | 1 November 1984 |
| 71 | Thailand | 12 July 1985 |
| 72 | Mongolia | 25 October 1985 |
| 73 | Guyana | 23 September 1987 |
| 74 | Colombia | 27 September 1988 |
| 75 | Qatar | 23 October 1988 |
| 76 | Bahrain | 25 February 1989 |
| 77 | Brunei | 21 January 1992 |
| 78 | Ukraine | 6 February 1992 |
| 79 | Jordan | 15 July 1992 |
| 80 | Indonesia | 8 August 1992 |
| 81 | Chile | 29 September 1992 |
| 82 | Armenia | 16 November 1992 |
| 83 | Belarus | 25 November 1992 |
| 84 | Moldova | 11 December 1992 |
| 85 | Singapore | 1 May 1993 |
| 86 | Equatorial Guinea | 1993 |
| 87 | Honduras | 30 September 1994 |
| 88 | Malaysia | 4 January 1995 |
| 89 | Slovenia | 28 March 1995 |
| 90 | South Africa | 11 May 1994 |
| 91 | Croatia | 18 May 1995 |
| 92 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 26 May 1995 |
| 93 | Slovakia | 1 August 1997 |
| 94 | Lithuania | 23 September 1998 |
| 95 | Cyprus | 13 June 2001 |
| 96 | Costa Rica | 22 June 2001 |
| 97 | Iceland | 23 October 2001 |
| 98 | Philippines | 10 October 2002 |
| 99 | Madagascar | 14 October 2002 |
| 100 | Angola | 16 January 2003 |
| 101 | Mauritius | 14 March 2003 |
| 102 | Kenya | 25 March 2003 |
| 103 | Venezuela | 2 September 2003 |
| 104 | Azerbaijan | 28 May 2004 |
| 105 | North Macedonia | 27 November 2004 |
| 106 | Andorra | 18 May 2005 |
| 107 | Chad | 14 October 2005 |
| 108 | Estonia | 28 March 2006 |
| 109 | Guatemala | 21 July 2006 |
| 110 | Botswana | 12 January 2007 |
| 111 | Haiti | 25 January 2007 |
| 112 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 20 February 2007 |
| 113 | Ireland | 1 May 2007 |
| 114 | Laos | 1 August 2007 |
| 115 | Uruguay | 28 August 2007 |
| 116 | Dominican Republic | 28 September 2007 |
| 117 | Malta | 8 February 2008 |
| 118 | Pakistan | 6 May 2008 |
| 119 | Australia | 13 November 2008 |
| 120 | Paraguay | 18 May 2010 |
| 121 | Cambodia | 2 July 2010 |
| 122 | Kazakhstan | 10 February 2011 |
| 123 | Latvia | 6 April 2011 |
| 124 | Zambia | 15 July 2011 |
| 125 | Panama | 29 July 2011 |
| 126 | Montenegro | 20 December 2011 |
| 127 | Maldives | 29 December 2011 |
| 128 | Malawi | 2011 |
| 129 | Tajikistan | 12 January 2012 |
| 130 | Ecuador | 8 February 2012 |
| 131 | Georgia | 2 October 2012 |
| 132 | Sri Lanka | 16 November 2012 |
| — | Kosovo | 6 December 2012 |
| 133 | Tuvalu | 15 February 2013 |
| 134 | Fiji | 22 November 2013 |
| 135 | Djibouti | 16 December 2013 |
| 136 | Cape Verde | 14 May 2014 |
| 137 | Namibia | 23 July 2014 |
| 138 | Monaco | 19 September 2014 |
| 139 | Mozambique | 16 September 2015 |
| 140 | Turkmenistan | 12 March 2016 |
| 141 | Lesotho | 14 April 2016 |
| 142 | New Zealand | 19 April 2017 |
| 143 | Seychelles | 16 May 2017 |
| 144 | Nepal | 29 December 2017 |
| 145 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 19 February 2019 |
| 146 | Burundi | 28 October 2019 |
| 147 | Zimbabwe | 30 October 2019 |
| 148 | Tanzania | 25 August 2021 |
| 149 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 10 October 2021 |
| 150 | Marshall Islands | 26 September 2024 |
| 151 | Benin | Unknown |
| 152 | Cameroon | Unknown |
| 153 | Comoros | Unknown |
| 154 | Gambia | Unknown |
| 155 | Mauritania | Unknown |
| — | State of Palestine | Unknown |
| 156 | Yemen | Unknown |

## Bilateral relations

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Austria | 1970 | Austria is represented in Burkina Faso by its embassy in Dakar, Senegal Diplomatic relations were established in 1960. |
| Benin | | In September 2007, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute over two villages along the Benin–Burkina Faso border that remain from a 2005 ICJ decision. |
| China | 15 September 1973 | See Burkina Faso–China relations Diplomatic relations were established on 15 September 1973. On February 2, 1994, Burkina Faso signed a communique to resume diplomatic relations with Taiwan. On February 4, the Chinese government announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Burkina Faso. A communique on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations was signed on 26 May 2018. |
| Cyprus | 13 June 2001 | See Burkina Faso–Cyprus relations |
| Denmark | 1971 | See Burkina Faso–Denmark relations |
| Ethiopia | 11 April 1968 | Diplomatic relations were established on 11 April 1968 when the first Ethiopian ambassador to Upper Volta, Ato Haile Mechecha, has presented his credentials to President Lamizana |
| France | 4 August 1960 | See Burkina Faso–France relations Diplomatic relations were established on 4 August 1960. Present day Burkina Faso was formerly part of a French colony called French Upper Volta. France has special forces stationed in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso has an embassy in Paris. France has an embassy in Ouagadougou. In January 2023, Burkina Faso's military junta asked France to recall its ambassador amid a surge of anti-French sentiment as the country moved to develop closer ties to Russia |
| Gabon | 11 November 1965 | Diplomatic relations were established on 11 November 1965. On 29 December 1969 first Ambassador of Gabon to Upper Volta Mr. Marcel Sandoungout has presented his letters of credence. |
| Ghana | 12 June 1961 | See Burkina Faso–Ghana relations Diplomatic relations were established on 12 June 1961 With the coming to power of Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso in 1983, relations between Ghana and Burkina became both warm and close. Indeed, Rawlings and Sankara began discussions about uniting Ghana and Burkina in the manner of the defunct Ghana-Guinea-Mali Union, which Nkrumah had sought unsuccessfully to promote as a foundation for his dream of unified continental government. Political and economic ties between Ghana and Burkina, a poorer country, were strengthened through joint commissions of cooperation and through border demarcation committee meetings. Frequent high-level consultations and joint military exercises, meant to discourage potential dissidents and to protect young "revolutions" in each country, were fairly regular features of Ghana-Burkina relations. |
| Greece | 1978 | See Burkina Faso–Greece relations |
| Iceland | 23 October 2001 | Burkina Faso is represented in Iceland by its embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark. |
| India | 23 March 1962 | See Burkina Faso–India relations Both countries established diplomatiuc relations on 23 March 1962 India and Burkina Faso enjoy warm relations. |
| Iran | 1 November 1984 | Diplomatic relations were established on 1 November 1984 See Burkina Faso–Iran relations |
| Israel | 5 July 1961 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 5 July 1961. Although Burkina Faso operates a consulate in Tel Aviv, Israel has no diplomatic nor consular presence in Burkina Faso. The Israeli ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire Dr. Eliyahu Ben-Tura is accredited as the non-resident Ambassador to Burkina Faso (as well as Benin and Togo). |
| Italy | 16 June 1962 | Diplomatic relations were established on 16 June 1962 when Mr. Renzo Luigi Romanelli, the first Italian Ambassador to Upper Volta, has presented his letters of credence to President Maurice Yameogo. Burkina Faso has an embassy in Rome and honorary consulates in Florence, Milan, Napoli, and Palermo. Italy has an honorary consulate in Ouagadougou. |
| Ivory Coast | 30 December 1966 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 30 December 1966 When Thomas Sankara came to power in 1983 relations between Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast became hostile as Félix Houphouët-Boigny was threatened by Sankara's revolutionary regime. That was one of the main reasons why Blaise Compaore launched his coup in 1987 killing Sankara and making himself president. Under Blaise Compaore Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso reestablished good relations and both countries supported Charles Taylor's NPFL in their overthrow of Samuel Doe. They remain allies and are active trading partners. |
| Kosovo | 6 December 2012 | Burkina Faso recognised the Republic of Kosovo on April 24, 2008. Burkina Faso and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on 6 December 2012. |
| Libya | 12 January 1981 | See Burkina Faso–Libya relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 January 1981. |
| Mexico | 30 June 1976 | Diplomatic relations were established on 30 June 1976 Burkina Faso is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States and an honorary consulate in Mexico City. Mexico is accredited to Burkina Faso from its embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. |
| Nepal | 29 December 2017 | Diplomatic relations were established on 29 December 2017 Both countries are Landlocked developing countries. |
| Netherlands | 14 December 1961 | Diplomatic relations were established on 14 December 1961 Burkina Faso is represented in the Netherlands by its embassy in Brussels, Belgium and an honorary consulate in Rotterdam. The Netherlands are represented in Burkina Faso by their embassy in Bamako, Mali. |
| Nigeria | 19 February 1970 | Diplomatic relations were established on 19 February 1970 when Ambassador of Upper Volta to Nigeria (resident in Accra) Mr. Victor Kabore, presented his credentials. |
| North Korea | 11 October 1972 | See Burkina Faso–North Korea relations Diplomatic relations were established on 11 October 1972 |
| Portugal | 7 July 1978 | Diplomatic relations were established on 7 July 1978 when Ambassador of Upper Volta M. Victor Kabore, has presented his credentials to President of Portugal Ramalho Eanes. |
| Russia | 18 February 1967 | See Burkina Faso–Russia relations Diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and the Soviet Union were established for the first time on February 18, 1967. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Burkina Faso recognized Russia as the USSR's successor. However financial reasons has shut the embassies between the two nations. In 1992, the embassy of the Russian Federation in Ouagadougou was closed, and in 1996, the embassy of Burkina Faso in Moscow was closed. Burkina Faso has since re-opened its embassy in Moscow. |
| Rwanda | 26 November 1975 | Diplomatic relations were established on 26 November 1975 when Rwanda's first Ambassador to Upper Volta (resident in Kinshasa), M. Canisius Mudenge, has presented his credentials to President Lamizana. |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 10 October 2021 | Diplomatic relations were established on 10 October 2021 Diplomatic relations were established and signed a visa agreement at the 60th Anniversary Additional Commemorative Non-Aligned Meeting. |
| South Africa | 11 May 1994 | Diplomatic relations were established on 11 May 1994 Both countries are full members of the African Union. |
| Spain | 27 November 1964 | See Burkina Faso–Spain relations Diplomatic relations were established on 27 November 1964 |
| Sweden | 1969 | See Burkina Faso–Sweden relations Diplomatic relations were established in 1969 Sweden is a major contributor of developmental aid to Burkina Faso. The Burkina Faso–Sweden Friendship Association was formed in 1986 to promote exchange between the two countries. |
| Turkey | 6 April 1970 | See also Burkina Faso–Turkey relations Diplomatic relations were established on 6 April 1970 Burkina Faso has an embassy in Ankara. Turkey has an embassy in Ouagadougou. Trade volume between the two countries was US$52.2 million in 2019 (Burkina Faso's exports/imports: 20.8/31.4 million USD). |
| Uganda | 26 May 1976 | Diplomatic relations were established on 26 May 1976 when Uganda's Ambassador to Upper Volta, Lieut.-Col. Mahamudu Omua Azia, presented his credentials to General Lamizana. |
| United Kingdom | 6 October 1960 | See Foreign relations of the United Kingdom Burkina Faso established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 6 October 1960, then known as Upper Volta. Burkina Faso does not maintain an embassy in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is not accredited to Burkina Faso through an embassy; the UK develops relations through its high commission in Accra, Ghana. Both countries share common membership of the World Trade Organization. |
| United States | 5 August 1960 | See Burkina Faso–United States relations Diplomatic relations were established on 5 August 1960 Relations are good but subject to strains in the past because of the Compaoré government's past involvement in arms trading and other sanctions-breaking activity. In addition to regional peace and stability, U.S. interests in Burkina are to promote continued democratization and greater respect for human rights and to encourage sustainable economic development. Although the Agency for International Development (USAID) closed its office in Ouagadougou in 1995, about $18 million annually of USAID funding goes to Burkina's development through non-governmental and regional organizations. The largest is a Food for Peace school lunch program administered by Catholic Relief Services. Burkina has been the site of several development success stories. U.S. leadership in building food security in the Sahel after the 1968–74 drought has been successful in virtually eliminating famine, despite recurrent drought years. River blindness has been eliminated from the region. In both cases, the U.S. was the main donor to inter-African organizations headquartered in Ouagadougou which through sustained efforts have achieved and consolidated these gains. In 2005, Burkina Faso and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a $12 million Threshold Country Program to build schools and increase girls' enrollment rates. In November 2005, the Millennium Challenge Corporation selected Burkina Faso as eligible to submit a proposal for Millennium Challenge Account assistance for fiscal year 2006, making it one of only two countries eligible for threshold as well as compact funding. The Government of Burkina Faso is working closely with MCC staff to finalize its compact submission. |
| Vietnam | 16 November 1973 | Diplomatic relations were established on 16 November 1973 Both countries are full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. |