FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Guinea-Bissau
follows a nonaligned foreign policy and seeks friendly and cooperative
relations with a wide variety of states and organizations. The
European Union, France, Gambia, Portugal, Brazil, Egypt, Nigeria,
People's Republic of China, Libya, Senegal, Guinea, the Palestinian
Authority, and Russia have embassies in Bissau. Belgium, Canada,
Germany, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom, and the U.S. conduct diplomatic relations
with Guinea-Bissau through their embassies in neighboring Dakar,
Senegal.
Guinea-Bissau
is a member of the UN and many of its specialized and related
agencies. It is a member of the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF); African Development Bank (AFDB), Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West African Economic
and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC), Organization of African Unity (OAU--now the African Union),
and permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the
Sahel (CILSS). Guinea-Bissau also is a member of the Group of
77 (G-77), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Health Organization
(WHO).
U.S.-GUINEA-BISSAU
RELATIONS
The U.S. Embassy suspended operations in Bissau on June 14, 1998,
in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then-President
Vieira and the military-led junta. Prior to and following the
Embassy closure, the United States and Guinea-Bissau have enjoyed
excellent bilateral relations.
The U.S.
recognized the independence of Guinea-Bissau on September 10,
1974. Guinea-Bissau's Ambassador to the United States and the
United Nations was one of the first the new nation sent abroad.
The U.S. opened an Embassy in Bissau in 1976, and the first U.S.
Ambassador presented credentials later that year.
U.S. assistance
began in 1975 with a $1 million grant to the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees for resettlement of refugees returning to Guinea-Bissau
and for 25 training grants at African technical schools for Guinean
students. Emergency food was a major element in U.S. assistance
to Guinea-Bissau in the first years after independence. Since
1975, the U.S. has provided more than $65 million in grant aid
and other assistance.
Since
the 1998 war the U.S. has provided over $800,000 for humanitarian
demining to a non-governmental organization (NGO) which has removed
over 2,500 mines and 11,000 unexploded ordnance from the city
of Bissau; $1.6 million in food aid; and nearly $3 million for
assistance for refugees, improving the cashew industry, and promoting
democracy.
The United
States and Guinea-Bissau signed an international military education
and training (IMET)agreement in 1986, and prior to 1998, the U.S.
provided English-language teaching facilities as well as communications
and navigational equipment to support the navy's coastal surveillance
program. The U.S. European Command’s Humanitarian Assistance
Program has assisted with $390,000 for constructing or repairing
schools, health centers, and bridges.
The Peace
Corps withdrew from Guinea-Bissau in 1998 at the start of the
civil war.
In August
2004, sanctions under Section 508 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations
Act--which were imposed as a result of the September 2003 military
coup--were lifted and Bissau once again became eligible for IMET
and other direct aid.
In March 2007, the U.S. and Brazil signed a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with Guinea-Bissau highlighting a parliamentary strengthening project first implemented in 2005.
Principal U.S. Officials (resident in Dakar, Senegal)
Ambassador--vacant
Deputy Chief of Mission--Jay T. Smith
There is no United States Embassy in Bissau. The U.S. Ambassador to Senegal, who resides in Dakar, is accredited as the U.S. Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau. All official U.S. contact with Guinea-Bissau is handled by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. Local employees staff the U.S. Office in Bissau, and American diplomats from the Embassy in Dakar travel frequently to Bissau to conduct normal diplomatic relations.
