As part of the foreign relations of Suriname, the country is a participant in numerous international organizations.

Border disputes

The country claims an area in

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

between

Litani River The Litani River (), the classical Leontes (), is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding in length, the ...

and

Marouini River The Malani (), also 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 in the Tumuk Humak Mo ...

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

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

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, and the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

. Suriname is a member of the

Caribbean Community and Common Market The Caribbean Community (abbreviated as CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) and five associated members throughout the Americas, th ...

and the

Association of Caribbean States The Association of Caribbean States (ACS; ; ) is an advisory association of nations centered on the Caribbean Basin. It was formed with the aim of promoting consultation, cooperation, and concerted action among all the countries of the Caribbe ...

. It is associated with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

through the

Lomé Convention The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Economic Community, European Economic Community (EEC) and 71 ACP countries, African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo. His ...

. 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 tributary, 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 ...

that focuses on protection of the Amazon region's natural resources from

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

. 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 (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

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

Caribbean Development Bank The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is a development bank that helps Caribbean countries finance social and economic programs in its member countries through loans, grants, and technical assistance. The CDB was established by an Agreement signed ...

, the

Economic Commission for Latin America The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC, ECLAC or ''CEPAL'', in Spanish: ''Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe'') is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooper ...

, the

Forum of East Asia–Latin America Cooperation The Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation () or (abbreviated as FEALAC) is a regional forum of 36 countries constituting the region of East, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Latin America that came together to form an official and regular dialo ...

, the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

, the

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. and a member of the World Bank Group that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

. Suriname became a member of the

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank (, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are 57 shareholding member st ...

in 1998, under the

Wijdenbosch Jules Albert Wijdenbosch (2 May 1941 – 30 April 2025) was a Surinamese politician who was President of Suriname from 1996 to 2000 and prime minister from 1987 to 1988. Life and career Wijdenbosch was born in Paramaribo on 2 May 1941. He was ...

government. In 2003, Suriname joined the

Nederlandse Taalunie The Dutch Language Union ( , NTU) is an international regulatory institution that governs issues regarding the Dutch language. It is best known for its spelling reforms which are promulgated by member states, grammar books, the Green Booklet ...

(Dutch language union). Suriname has been a member of

The Forum of Small States (FOSS) The Forum of Small States (FOSS) is a voluntary, informal and non-ideological grouping of countries at the United Nations, founded in 1992 by Singapore. Since then, Singapore has served as Chair of FOSS. The Forum of Small States is open to count ...

since the group's founding in 1992.access-date=28 March 2024

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, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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 and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

and 14 other Caribbean leaders during the first-ever US-regional summit in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

, Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional

Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean The Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean (PPS) is a regional-level dialogue with the stated purpose of providing greater cooperation on security and economic issues. The Partnership was founded in Bridgetown, Barbados on March ...

- 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 with:

Bilateral relations

References

External links

*
Permanent Mission of Suriname to the United Nations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Relations Of Suriname Government of Suriname Politics of Suriname

Border disputes

International organization participation

Regional and international agreements

Diplomatic relations

Bilateral relations

See also

References

External links