# Foreign relations of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is an active member of the international community and, in 1983, claimed it was for neutrality. Due to certain powerful constituencies favoring its methods, it has a weight in world affairs far beyond its size. The country lobbied aggressively for the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and became the first nation to recognize the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Human Rights Court, based in San José.
The foreign affairs of the Republic of Costa Rica are a function of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.

## History

Costa Rica gained election as president of the Group of 77 in the United Nations in 1995. That term ended in 1997 with the South-South Conference held in San Jose.
Costa Rica occupied a nonpermanent seat in the Security Council from 1997 to 1999 and exercised a leadership role in confronting crises in the Middle East and Africa, as well as in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is currently a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. On 1 January 2008 Costa Rica started its third year term on the Security Council.
Costa Rica strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, which led to the restoration of the democratically elected Government of Haiti in October 1994. Costa Rica was among the first to call for a postponement of the 22 May elections in Peru when international observer missions found electoral machinery not prepared for the vote count.
Costa Rica is also a member of the International Criminal Court, without a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).

## Relations to Central America

In 1987, then President Óscar Arias authored a regional plan that served as the basis for the Esquipulas Peace Agreement and Arias was awarded the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Arias also promoted change in the USSR-backed Nicaraguan government of the era. Costa Rica also hosted several rounds of negotiations between the Salvadoran Government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, aiding El Salvador's efforts to emerge from civil war and culminating in that country's 1994 free and fair elections. Costa Rica has been a strong proponent of regional arms-limitation agreements. Former President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez recently proposed the abolition of all Central American militaries and the creation of a regional counternarcotics police force in their stead.
With the establishment of democratically elected governments in all Central American nations by the 1990s, Costa Rica turned its focus from regional conflicts to the pursuit of neoliberal policies on the isthmus. The influence of these policies, along with the US invasion of Panama, was instrumental in drawing Panama into the Central American model of neoliberalism. Costa Rica also participated in the multinational Partnership for Democracy and Development in Central America.
Regional political integration has not proven attractive to Costa Rica. The country debated its role in the Central American integration process under former President Calderon. Costa Rica has sought concrete economic ties with its Central American neighbors rather than the establishment of regional political institutions, and it chose not to join the Central American Parliament.

## Costa Rica in the UN

Costa Rica has been an active member of the United Nations since its inception at the San Francisco Conference in 1945. Its first ambassador to the United Nations was Fernando Soto Harrison, the secretary of governance under President Picado.
Costa Rican Christiana Figueres was nominated for the post of UN secretary-general in July 2016.

## Diplomatic relations

List of countries with which Costa Rica maintains diplomatic relations:
Date :
| 1 | Honduras | 1 July 1839 |
| 2 | Guatemala | 18 August 1839 |
| 3 | El Salvador | 10 December 1845 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 28 February 1848 |
| 5 | France | 12 March 1848 |
| 6 | Spain | 10 May 1850 |
| 7 | United States | 24 March 1851 |
| 8 | Peru | 25 April 1852 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 12 July 1852 |
| 10 | Colombia | 11 June 1856 |
| 11 | Belgium | 26 July 1858 |
| 12 | Argentina | 23 October 1862 |
| 13 | Italy | 25 February 1864 |
| 14 | Nicaragua | 30 July 1868 |
| 15 | Mexico | 3 August 1876 |
| 16 | Dominican Republic | 10 August 1876 |
| 17 | Paraguay | 1883 |
| 18 | Ecuador | 26 October 1885 |
| 19 | Venezuela | 22 June 1891 |
| 20 | Chile | April 1902 |
| 21 | Panama | 29 December 1903 |
| 22 | Brazil | 21 June 1907 |
| 23 | Cuba | 17 December 1907 |
| — | Holy See | 19 August 1908 |
| 24 | Portugal | 10 July 1913 |
| 25 | Bolivia | 1913 |
| 26 | Uruguay | 16 January 1930 |
| 27 | Poland | 18 November 1933 |
| 28 | Czech Republic | 21 March 1935 |
| 29 | Japan | February 1935 |
| 30 | Sweden | 26 November 1937 |
| 31 | Norway | 2 May 1939 |
| 32 | Russia | 8 May 1944 |
| 33 | Philippines | 5 July 1946 |
| 34 | Denmark | 3 October 1947 |
| 35 | Turkey | 20 April 1950 |
| 36 | Cambodia | 1 May 1950 |
| 37 | Serbia | 14 June 1952 |
| 38 | Germany | 7 October 1952 |
| 39 | Israel | 22 October 1954 |
| 40 | Haiti | 29 September 1955 |
| 41 | Switzerland | 18 June 1957 |
| — | Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 8 August 1957 |
| 42 | Austria | 17 April 1958 |
| 43 | Canada | 20 January 1961 |
| 44 | South Korea | 15 August 1962 |
| 45 | Luxembourg | 29 January 1963 |
| 46 | Syria | 15 December 1964 |
| 47 | Egypt | 1964 |
| 48 | Greece | 2 July 1965 |
| 49 | Finland | 23 August 1966 |
| 50 | India | 1968 |
| 51 | Hungary | 14 May 1970 |
| 52 | Bulgaria | 9 October 1970 |
| 53 | Romania | 4 July 1970 |
| 54 | Trinidad and Tobago | 21 May 1971 |
| 55 | Jamaica | 21 July 1971 |
| 56 | Barbados | 6 March 1972 |
| 57 | Ivory Coast | 15 February 1973 |
| 58 | Albania | 20 February 1973 |
| 59 | Tunisia | 15 October 1973 |
| 60 | Pakistan | 9 November 1973 |
| 61 | North Korea | 10 February 1974 |
| 62 | Cameroon | 3 April 1974 |
| 63 | Guyana | 17 April 1974 |
| 64 | Australia | 9 October 1974 |
| 65 | Libya | 30 November 1974 |
| 66 | Bahamas | 1974 |
| 67 | Nigeria | 26 June 1975 |
| 68 | Vietnam | 24 April 1976 |
| 69 | Myanmar | 8 March 1977 |
| 70 | Malaysia | 17 April 1977 |
| 71 | Mongolia | 6 June 1977 |
| 72 | Sri Lanka | 11 June 1977 |
| 73 | Nepal | 16 August 1977 |
| 74 | Papua New Guinea | 28 April 1978 |
| 75 | Senegal | 23 January 1979 |
| 76 | Suriname | 1 March 1979 |
| 77 | Togo | 11 June 1979 |
| 78 | Iraq | March 1981 |
| 79 | Equatorial Guinea | April 1981 |
| 80 | Belize | September 1981 |
| 81 | Cyprus | 17 November 1981 |
| 82 | Kenya | 1982 |
| 83 | Antigua and Barbuda | 16 January 1984 |
| 84 | Indonesia | 9 January 1985 |
| 85 | Morocco | 25 September 1986 |
| 86 | Singapore | 1 September 1987 |
| 87 | New Zealand | 5 July 1988 |
| 88 | Algeria | 13 March 1990 |
| 89 | Namibia | 1990 |
| 90 | Saint Lucia | 1991 |
| 91 | Seychelles | 17 March 1992 |
| 92 | Lithuania | 17 May 1992 |
| 93 | Ukraine | 9 June 1992 |
| 94 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 11 June 1992 |
| 95 | Marshall Islands | 15 June 1992 |
| 96 | Belarus | 24 June 1992 |
| 97 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | June 1992 |
| 98 | Grenada | 31 August 1992 |
| 99 | Slovakia | 6 January 1993 |
| 100 | Estonia | 4 October 1993 |
| 101 | Brunei | 14 April 1994 |
| 102 | Benin | 28 June 1994 |
| 103 | South Africa | 4 October 1994 |
| 104 | Guinea-Bissau | 28 March 1995 |
| 105 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 19 October 1995 |
| 106 | Croatia | 19 October 1995 |
| 107 | Slovenia | 19 October 1995 |
| 108 | Andorra | 22 May 1996 |
| 109 | Cape Verde | 23 May 1996 |
| 110 | Kazakhstan | 1 October 1996 |
| 111 | North Macedonia | 15 October 1996 |
| 112 | Iceland | 10 January 1997 |
| 113 | Azerbaijan | 15 January 1997 |
| 114 | Armenia | 8 April 1997 |
| 115 | Lesotho | 17 April 1998 |
| 116 | Georgia | 5 May 1998 |
| 117 | Gambia | 26 October 1999 |
| 118 | Ethiopia | Before 1999 |
| 119 | Liberia | Before 1999 |
| 120 | Malta | Before 1999 |
| 121 | Moldova | 4 May 2000 |
| 122 | Liechtenstein | 12 January 2000 |
| 123 | Thailand | 25 April 2000 |
| 124 | Ghana | 11 July 2000 |
| 125 | Ireland | 15 September 2000 |
| 126 | Tajikistan | 28 February 2001 |
| 127 | Rwanda | 8 March 2001 |
| 128 | Angola | 13 March 2001 |
| 129 | Mozambique | 15 March 2001 |
| 130 | Dominica | 10 May 2001 |
| 131 | Uzbekistan | 7 June 2001 |
| 132 | Burkina Faso | 22 June 2001 |
| 133 | Kyrgyzstan | 24 September 2001 |
| 134 | Timor-Leste | 14 May 2003 |
| 135 | Latvia | 15 May 2003 |
| 136 | Qatar | 17 March 2004 |
| 137 | Bahrain | 22 September 2006 |
| 138 | Kuwait | 22 September 2006 |
| 139 | Jordan | 10 January 2007 |
| 140 | Montenegro | 24 May 2007 |
| 141 | China | 1 June 2007 |
| 142 | Lebanon | 24 August 2007 |
| 143 | Uganda | 29 August 2007 |
| 144 | Yemen | 4 September 2007 |
| 145 | Republic of Congo | 4 September 2007 |
| 146 | Botswana | 11 September 2007 |
| 147 | Eswatini | 24 September 2007 |
| 148 | Burundi | 28 September 2007 |
| 149 | Guinea | 1 October 2007 |
| 150 | Oman | 19 December 2007 |
| — | State of Palestine | 5 February 2008 |
| 151 | San Marino | 19 February 2008 |
| 152 | United Arab Emirates | 11 March 2010 |
| 153 | Maldives | 21 September 2010 |
| 154 | Bhutan | 21 March 2012 |
| 155 | Fiji | 2 August 2013 |
| — | Kosovo | 23 September 2013 |
| 156 | Zambia | 28 May 2014 |
| 157 | Laos | 28 September 2015 |
| 158 | Monaco | 22 October 2015 |
| 159 | Saudi Arabia | 7 December 2015 |
| 160 | Vanuatu | 28 September 2018 |
| 161 | Bangladesh | Unknown |
| 162 | Iran | Unknown |

## Bilateral relations

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Azerbaijan | 15 January 1997 | The diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Costa Rica were established on 15 January 1997. The Republic of Azerbaijan is accredited to the Republic of Costa Rica through its embassy in Mexico City, Mexico. |
| Belize | 1981 | Both countries established diplomatic relations in September 1981. Both countries are full members of the Organization of American States. Belize has an honorary consulate in San José. Costa Rica has an embassy in Belmopan. |
| China | | See China–Costa Rica relations Costa Rica maintained official relations with the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) instead of the People's Republic of China (commonly known as China) until 1 June 2007, when it opened relations with China. Taiwan then broke relations on 7 June. China has an embassy in San José. Costa Rica has an embassy in Beijing. |
| Cuba | | Soon after Fidel Castro declared Cuba a socialist state, Costa Rican President Mario Echandi Jiménez ended diplomatic relations on 10 September 1961 with the island through Executive Decree Number 2, in compliance with sanctions placed on Cuba by the Organization of American States. In 1995, Costa Rica established a consular office in Havana. Cuba opened a consular office in Costa Rica in 2001. Forty-seven years after the initial freeze, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez announced on 18 March 2009 that normal relations were to be re-established, saying, "If we have been able to turn the page with regimes as profoundly different to our reality as occurred with the USSR or, more recently, with the Republic of China, how would we not do it with a country that is geographically and culturally much nearer to Costa Rica?" Arias also announced that both countries would exchange ambassadors. The next day, Cuba's government announced that it agreed to re-establishing relations. Costa Rica has an embassy in Havana. Cuba has an embassy in San José. |
| Guyana | 17 April 1974 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 April 1974. Both countries are full members of the Organization of American States. |
| India | | India has honorary consulate in San José. Costa Rica maintains an embassy in New Delhi. |
| Israel | | Costa Rica recognized Israel on 19 June 1948. The Embassy of Costa Rica was located in Tel Aviv until it moved to Jerusalem in 1982. As of 1984, Costa Rica and El Salvador were the only two countries that recognized Israel and also maintained an embassy in Jerusalem. In 2006, the Embassy of Costa Rica relocated to Tel Aviv; Costa Rican President Óscar Arias said the decision was intended to "rectify a historic error". In December 2011, Rodrigo Carreras became the Costa Rican ambassador to Israel for the second time, after his posting there in the 1980s. Carreras' father, Benjamin Nunez, also served as the Costa Rican ambassador to Israel. Costa Rica has an embassy in Tel Aviv. Israel has an embassy in San José. |
| Italy | | See Costa Rica–Italy relations Costa Rica has an embassy in Rome. Italy has an embassy in San José. |
| Kosovo | 23 September 2013 | Costa Rica officially recognised the independence of the Republic of Kosovo on 17 February 2008. Costa Rica and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on 23 September 2013. |
| Mexico | 1838 | See Costa Rica–Mexico relations Diplomatic relations between Mexico and Costa Rica began in 1838. Costa Rica has an embassy in Mexico City. Mexico has an embassy in San José. |
| Russia | | See Costa Rica–Russia relations Holders of a Russian passport need a visa authorized by Costa Rica, or alternatively Costa Rican authorities will accept Russian nationals with a visa stamp for the European Union, Canada, US, South Korea, or Japan valid for 90 days after arrival; with a tourist visa, Russians can stay in Costa Rica for a maximum of 90 days. In order to get a tourist visa, the person needs to apply for it in the closest Costa Rican embassy to where the person is living. They must have a valid passport and either have an invitation letter or a bank statement with enough money to survive the length of the stay in Costa Rica, plus proof of onward travel (ticket to exit Costa Rica & legal ability to travel to the destination stated on the ticket). Holders of a Costa Rican passport also need a visa from Russian authorities. Costa Rica has an embassy in Moscow. Russia has an embassy in San José. |
| Serbia | 1952 | Both countries have established diplomatic relations in 1952. A number of bilateral agreements have been concluded and are in force between both countries. |
| South Korea | 15 August 1962 | The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Costa Rica began on 15 August 1962. Costa Rica has an embassy in Seoul. South Korea has an embassy in San José. |
| Spain | 1850 | See Costa Rica–Spain relations Costa Rica has an embassy in Madrid. Spain has an embassy in San José. |
| Turkey | 15 January 1898 | See Costa Rica–Turkey relations Costa Rica has an embassy in Ankara. Turkey has an embassy in San José. Trade volume between the two countries was US$100 million in 2019 (Costa Rican exports/imports: 41.8/58.9 million USD). |
| United States | | See Costa Rica–United States relations The United States is Costa Rica's most important trading partner. The U.S. accounts for almost half of Costa Rica's exports, imports, and tourism, and more than two-thirds of its foreign investment. The two countries share growing concerns for the environment and want to preserve Costa Rica's important tropical resources and prevent environmental degradation. In 2007, the United States reduced Costa Rica's debt in exchange for protection and conservation of Costa Rican forests through a debt for nature swap under the auspices of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. This is the largest such agreement of its kind to date. Costa Rica has an embassy in Washington, D.C. and consulates-general in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Juan. United States has an embassy in San José.  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State. |
| Uruguay | | See Costa Rica–Uruguay relations Costa Rica has an embassy in Montevideo. Uruguay has an embassy in San José. |
| Zambia | 28 May 2014 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 28 May 2014 when first Ambassador of Zambia to Costa Rica (resident in Washington) Mr. Palan Mulonda presented his credentials to President Luis Guillermo Solís. |