# Foreign relations of Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein's foreign economic policy has been dominated by its customs union with Switzerland (and with Austria-Hungary until World War I). This union also led to its independent membership in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1991. Unlike Switzerland however (where citizens rejected membership in a referendum), Liechtenstein is part of the European Economic Area.
Liechtenstein was admitted to the United Nations in 1990. It is not a member of most specialized agencies of the United Nations, with the exceptions of the International Telecommunication Union, the Universal Postal Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Liechtenstein has resorted two times to international dispute settlement by the International Court of Justice, in the Nottebohm (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala) case against Guatemala in the 1950s and in a case concerning art property of the Liechtenstein family against Germany in 2005. It lost in both cases.
Liechtenstein maintains resident embassies in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Holy See, Switzerland and the United States, along with a number of missions to international organisations. Under a 1919 agreement between Liechtenstein and Switzerland, ambassadors of Switzerland are authorised to represent Liechtenstein in countries and in diplomatic situations unless Liechtenstein opts to send its own ambassador. As of 2024, Liechtenstein has diplomatic relations with 133 UN countries.

## Relations with individual countries
### International dispute with Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

The country has an international dispute with the Czech Republic and Slovakia concerning the estates of its princely family in those countries. After World War II, Czechoslovakia, as it then was, acting to seize what it considered to be German possessions, expropriated the entirety of the Liechtenstein dynasty's hereditary lands and possessions in the Czech regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. The expropriations (which were the subject of an unsuccessful court case brought by Liechtenstein in the German courts and the International Court of Justice) included over 1,600 km$^2$ (620 sq mi) (which is ten times the size of Liechtenstein) of agricultural and forest land mostly in Moravia, also including several family castles and palaces. An offer from the Czech Republic to return the palaces and castles (without the surrounding land) was rejected by Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein recognised and established diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic on 13 July 2009 and with Slovakia on 9 December 2009. Liechtenstein's ruling prince, Hans-Adam II, has announced that the principality will take no further legal action to recover the appropriated assets.
In February 2020, the Czech Constitutional court in Brno rejected a case made by Liechtenstein to get the Czech government to change their classification of the Liechtenstein dynasty as German under the Beneš Decrees. On 19 August 2020, an inter-state application under the European Convention on Human Rights was made by Liechtenstein to the European Court of Human Rights against the Czech Republic.

## Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Liechtenstein maintains diplomatic relations with:
Date :
| 1 | Switzerland | March 1919 |
| 2 | Austria | 24 May 1919 |
| 3 | China | 14 September 1950 |
| 4 | Germany | 6 May 1952 |
| — | Holy See | 28 August 1985 |
| 5 | Estonia | 4 September 1991 |
| 6 | Sweden | 24 October 1991 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 20 November 1991 |
| 8 | Norway | 9 January 1992 |
| 9 | Spain | 9 January 1992 |
| 10 | Azerbaijan | 21 January 1992 |
| 11 | Slovenia | 31 January 1992 |
| 12 | Croatia | 4 February 1992 |
| 13 | Italy | 6 February 1992 |
| 14 | Portugal | 6 February 1992 |
| 15 | Ukraine | 6 February 1992 |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 6 February 1992 |
| 17 | Belarus | 10 February 1992 |
| 18 | Belgium | 13 March 1992 |
| 19 | Denmark | 13 March 1992 |
| 20 | Israel | 13 March 1992 |
| 21 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 May 1992 |
| 22 | Georgia | 10 June 1992 |
| 23 | Poland | 25 June 1992 |
| 24 | Finland | 26 June 1992 |
| 25 | Iceland | 26 June 1992 |
| 26 | Luxembourg | 26 June 1992 |
| 27 | Turkey | 2 October 1992 |
| 28 | France | 8 October 1992 |
| 29 | Ireland | 13 January 1993 |
| 30 | South Korea | 2 March 1993 |
| 31 | India | 6 April 1993 |
| 32 | Albania | 23 April 1993 |
| 33 | Hungary | 14 June 1993 |
| 34 | North Macedonia | 31 December 1993 |
| 35 | Brazil | 11 January 1994 |
| 36 | Argentina | 13 January 1994 |
| 37 | South Africa | 13 January 1994 |
| 38 | Russia | 30 January 1994 |
| 39 | Bulgaria | 25 April 1994 |
| 40 | Uruguay | 25 April 1994 |
| 41 | Mexico | 1 July 1994 |
| 42 | Greece | 6 July 1994 |
| — | Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 7 November 1994 |
| 43 | Andorra | 1 September 1995 |
| 44 | Philippines | 24 November 1995 |
| 45 | Pakistan | 4 December 1995 |
| 46 | Monaco | 16 February 1996 |
| 47 | Canada | 12 March 1996 |
| 48 | Japan | 12 June 1996 |
| 49 | Peru | 5 July 1996 |
| 50 | Chile | 2 October 1996 |
| 51 | Cyprus | 2 October 1996 |
| 52 | Latvia | 3 December 1996 |
| 53 | United States | 10 February 1997 |
| 54 | Australia | 14 March 1997 |
| 55 | Cuba | 11 June 1997 |
| 56 | Thailand | 14 August 1997 |
| 57 | Ecuador | 17 October 1997 |
| 58 | Venezuela | 17 October 1997 |
| 59 | Romania | 12 December 1997 |
| 60 | Mongolia | 18 March 1998 |
| 61 | Iran | 14 August 1998 |
| 62 | Indonesia | 14 August 1998 |
| 63 | Kyrgyzstan | 16 September 1999 |
| 64 | Costa Rica | 12 January 2000 |
| 65 | Lebanon | 9 June 2000 |
| 66 | Morocco | 9 June 2000 |
| 67 | Lithuania | 27 March 2001 |
| 68 | North Korea | 2 May 2001 |
| 69 | Moldova | 14 August 2001 |
| 70 | Colombia | 24 October 2001 |
| 71 | Serbia | 4 April 2003 |
| 72 | Malta | 12 May 2003 |
| 73 | Laos | 8 January 2004 |
| 74 | Malaysia | July 2004 |
| 75 | Bahrain | 1 April 2005 |
| 76 | Egypt | 17 October 2005 |
| 77 | Algeria | 21 October 2005 |
| 78 | Kazakhstan | 31 January 2007 |
| 79 | Montenegro | 26 March 2007 |
| 80 | Tajikistan | 28 January 2008 |
| 81 | Armenia | 7 May 2008 |
| 82 | Kuwait | 16 June 2008 |
| 83 | Vietnam | 2 July 2008 |
| 84 | Niger | 17 December 2008 |
| 85 | Saudi Arabia | 29 April 2009 |
| 86 | United Arab Emirates | 22 October 2009 |
| 87 | Czech Republic | 8 September 2009 |
| 88 | Slovakia | 9 December 2009 |
| 89 | Singapore | 19 April 2010 |
| 90 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2010 |
| 91 | Maldives | 21 January 2011 |
| 92 | Paraguay | 6 April 2011 |
| 93 | Cambodia | 8 June 2011 |
| 94 | San Marino | 21 October 2011 |
| 95 | Nigeria | 28 October 2011 |
| 96 | Brunei | 15 November 2011 |
| 97 | Panama | 3 January 2012 |
| 98 | Tuvalu | 1 June 2012 |
| — | Kosovo | 13 December 2012 |
| 99 | Solomon Islands | 2012 |
| 100 | Nicaragua | 23 February 2013 |
| 101 | New Zealand | 30 October 2013 |
| 102 | Trinidad and Tobago | 31 January 2014 |
| 103 | Ivory Coast | 14 March 2014 |
| 104 | Qatar | 26 June 2014 |
| 105 | Fiji | 30 July 2014 |
| 106 | Guinea | 11 December 2015 |
| 107 | Guatemala | 22 December 2015 |
| 108 | El Salvador | 2015 |
| 109 | Rwanda | 10 November 2016 |
| 110 | Mauritius | 12 May 2017 |
| 111 | Sudan | 24 May 2017 |
| 112 | Tunisia | 20 October 2017 |
| 113 | Nepal | 24 November 2017 |
| 114 | Antigua and Barbuda | 25 September 2018 |
| 115 | Afghanistan | 26 October 2018 |
| 116 | Equatorial Guinea | 2018 |
| 117 | Benin | 26 June 2019 |
| 118 | Chad | 26 June 2019 |
| 119 | Marshall Islands | 24 September 2019 |
| 120 | Dominican Republic | 26 September 2019 |
| 121 | Ghana | 19 December 2019 |
| 122 | Honduras | 2020 |
| 123 | Sri Lanka | 5 March 2021 |
| 124 | Angola | 23 June 2021 |
| 125 | Namibia | 22 September 2021 |
| 126 | Bolivia | 17 November 2021 |
| 127 | Senegal | 2021 |
| 128 | Kenya | 29 April 2022 |
| 129 | Jamaica | 18 September 2023 |
| 130 | Saint Lucia | 20 September 2023 |
| 131 | Oman | 4 March 2024 |
| 132 | Uzbekistan | 5 March 2024 |
| 133 | Turkmenistan | 1 November 2024 |
| 134 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Unknown |

## Bilateral relations
### Americas

| Country | Formal relations began on | Notes |
| Mexico | 1 July 1994 | Honorary Consulate of Mexico in Liechtenstein Liechtenstein does not have an embassy accredited to Mexico. Mexico is accredited to Liechtenstein from its embassy in Bern, Switzerland and maintains an honorary consulate in Vaduz. On 13 December 2023, Liechtenstein foreign minister Dominique Hasler met her Mexican counterpart Alicia Bárcena Ibarra in the first official Liechtenstein visit to Mexico. |
| United States | 10 February 1997 | See Liechtenstein–United States relations Liechtenstein has an embassy in Washington, D.C. United States is accredited to Liechtenstein from its embassy in Bern, Switzerland. |

### Asia

| Country | Formal relations began on | Notes |
| Hong Kong | | See Hong Kong–Liechtenstein relations Signed a tax treaty in 2010. Have a free trade agreement. |
| India | 1993 | See India–Liechtenstein relations |
| Japan | June 1996 | See Japan–Liechtenstein relations Japan has an honorary consulate in Schaan. The two countries signed a tax treaty in 2012. |
| South Korea | 2 March 1993 | See Liechtenstein - South Korea relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on March 02, 1993. The two states signed a FTA on 15 December 2005. |
| Turkey | 2 October 1992 | Turkey established diplomatic relations with Liechtenstein only in 1992 because Switzerland had taken responsibility for Liechtenstein's foreign relations until early 1990s. Turkey is accredited to Liechtenstein from its embassy in Bern, Switzerland and maintains an honorary consulate in Vaduz. |

### Europe

| Country | Formal relations began on | Notes |
| Czech Republic | 13 July 2009 | See Czech Republic–Liechtenstein relations The two countries have a long-running dispute regarding the seizure of Liechtenstein assets and properties by the Beneš decrees in 1945. In 2003, the Czech Republic refused to recognize Liechtenstein as having become a sovereign state in 1806. The two countries signed a correspondence treaty in 2009. |
| France | 27 August 1992 | See France–Liechtenstein relations The two countries signed a tax information exchange agreement. |
| Germany | 14 January 1992 | See Germany–Liechtenstein relations Germany is accredited to Liechtenstein from its embassy in Bern, Switzerland and maintains an honorary consulate in Vaduz. Liechtenstein has an embassy in Berlin. |
| Russia | 30 January 1994 | See Liechtenstein–Russia relations |
| Switzerland | 13 August 1919 | See Liechtenstein–Switzerland relations The two countries have been in a customs union since 1924. Liechtenstein has an embassy in Bern. Switzerland is accredited to Liechtenstein from its Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern and maintains an honorary consulate in Vaduz. |
| Ukraine | 6 February 1992 | See Liechtenstein–Ukraine relations The two countries have a free trade agreement. |
| United Kingdom | May 1992 | See Liechtenstein–United Kingdom relations The two countries have a free trade agreement. |

## Membership in international organizations

Liechtenstein is a member of the following international organizations:
* United Nations
* Council of Europe
* European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
* United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
* European Economic Area
* European Free Trade Association
* International Atomic Energy Agency
* International Criminal Court
* International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
* International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
* Intelsat
* Interpol
* International Olympic Committee
* International Telecommunication Union
* Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
* Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
* Permanent Court of Arbitration
* United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
* Universal Postal Union
* World Confederation of Labour
* World Intellectual Property Organization
* World Trade Organization
Liechtenstein was never a member of the League of Nations. Its application to join that international organisation was refused in 1920 due to its small size. While included in the Schengen Area, Liechtenstein is not a member of the European Union.