Foreign relations of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is a sovereign entity maintaining diplomatic relations with 113 sovereign states (including the Holy See).^[1] Additionally, it has observer status or representation at multiple intergovernmental organisations.^[2] The Order has non-diplomatic official relations with six more states: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada and the United Kingdom.^[1][3][4] The Order exchanges ambassadors with the European Union and the State of Palestine.^[1][2]

Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Some states recognize SMOM as a sovereign state, rather than a sovereign subject of international law. For example, the Republic of San Marino in 1935 recognized SMOM as a sovereign state in its own right.^[5][6][7] As Italy recognizes, in addition to extraterritoriality, the exercise by SMOM of all the prerogatives of sovereignty in its headquarters, Italian sovereignty and SMOM sovereignty uniquely coexist without overlapping.^[8]

As of June 2010^[update], nine Schengen states did not recognize the diplomatic passports of the Order: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, France, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Switzerland.^[9]

Bilateral relations

Diplomatic relations

#	Country	Date
—	Holy See	February 1930[10]
1	Romania	December 1932[11]
2	Spain	19 November 1938[12]
3	Haiti	1947[13]
4	Panama	2 August 1948[14]
5	Argentina	7 June 1951[15]
6	Brazil	6 December 1951[16][17]
7	El Salvador	1951[13]
8	Colombia	28 January 1953[18]
9	Peru	15 April 1953[19]
10	Ecuador	29 July 1953[20]
11	Chile	24 February 1956[21]
12	Italy	12 June 1956[22]
13	Lebanon	1956[13]
14	Costa Rica	8 August 1957[23]
15	Nicaragua	12 September 1957[24]
16	Austria	6 December 1957[25]
17	Dominican Republic	1957[26]
18	Paraguay	10 January 1958[27]
19	Guatemala	23 June 1959[28]
20	Cuba	29 July 1959[29]
21	Honduras	1959[26]
22	Liberia	1959[26]
23	Cameroon	4 July 1961[26]
24	Somalia	28 November 1961[26]
25	Bolivia	15 June 1962[30]
26	Portugal	19 December 1962[31]
27	Gabon	1963[26]
28	Philippines	24 April 1965[32]
29	Senegal	1965[26]
30	Uruguay	1965[26]
31	Malta	27 June 1966[33]
32	Venezuela	3 August 1970[34]
33	Niger	9 January 1971[35]
34	Ethiopia	February 1971[36]
35	Benin	1972[26]
36	Ivory Coast	1972[26]
37	Togo	5 September 1973[37]
38	Burkina Faso	1973[26]
39	Mauritania	3 March 1977[38]
40	Mauritius	18 July 1978[39]
41	Egypt	1980[26]
42	Central African Republic	1981[26]
43	Comoros	1981[26]
44	Thailand	4 September 1984[40]
45	Democratic Republic of the Congo	1984[26]
46	San Marino	4 March 1986[41]
47	Guinea	24 June 1986[42]
48	Mali	1986[26]
49	Morocco	1986[26]
50	Chad	1989[26]
51	Czech Republic	8 June 1990[43]
52	Hungary	15 June 1990[44]
53	Poland	9 July 1990[45]
54	Madagascar	1990[26]
55	Lithuania	9 July 1992[46]
56	Slovenia	15 July 1992[47]
57	Russia	7 August 1992[48]
58	Croatia	22 December 1992[49]
59	Republic of the Congo	1992[26]
60	Cambodia	1992[26]
61	Sudan	1992[26]
62	Slovakia	1 January 1993[50]
63	Kazakhstan	4 February 1993[51]
64	Seychelles	June 1994[52]
65	Albania	14 July 1994[53]
66	Liechtenstein	7 November 1994[54]
67	Bulgaria	11 November 1994[55]
68	Latvia	15 August 1995[56]
69	Belarus	30 April 1996[57]
70	North Macedonia	12 July 1996[57]
71	Equatorial Guinea	16 July 1996[57]
72	Cape Verde	1996[26]
73	Bosnia and Herzegovina	31 January 1997[58]
74	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	February 1997[59]
75	Federated States of Micronesia	12 November 1997[60]
76	Guinea-Bissau	1997[26]
77	Mozambique	1997[26]
78	São Tomé and Príncipe	1997[26]
79	Armenia	29 May 1998[61]
80	Georgia	24 July 1998[62]
81	Suriname	30 April 1999[63]
82	Guyana	19 May 1999[64]
83	Eritrea	1999[26]
84	Saint Lucia	1999[26]
85	Belize	1999[26]
86	Afghanistan	1999[26]
87	Moldova	5 May 2001[65]
88	Serbia	11 May 2001[66]
89	Tajikistan	1 June 2001[67]
90	Marshall Islands	3 May 2002[68]
91	Kiribati	2002[26]
92	Jordan	29 June 2003[69]
93	Angola	13 December 2005[70]
94	Montenegro	5 September 2006[71]
95	Timor-Leste	18 September 2006[72]
96	Kenya	14 September 2007[73]
97	Monaco	18 October 2007[74]
98	Turkmenistan	30 October 2007[73]
99	Ukraine	9 February 2008[73]
100	Bahamas	11 November 2008[73]
101	Sierra Leone	28 November 2008[73]
102	Namibia	31 March 2009[73]
103	Antigua and Barbuda	20 October 2009[73]
104	Cyprus	6 June 2012[75]
105	South Sudan	14 November 2014[76]
106	Grenada	6 November 2015[77]
107	Germany	15 November 2017[78]
108	Nauru	5 October 2018[79]
109	Estonia	11 March 2020[80]
110	Greece	2 December 2021[81]
111	Lesotho	7 December 2021[82]
112	Gambia	20 September 2023[83]
113	Burundi	25 October 2024[84]
114	Andorra	16 June 2025[85]

Other countries

#	Name	Diplomatic relations established	Notes
1	Ecuador	29 July 1953[20]	On 10 February 2012, President Rafael Correa issued a decree to withdraw recognition and initiate the process of cancelling relations.[86] Later on, the relations were restored by President Lenín Moreno on 24 September 2019.[87]
–	European Union	1987	Ambassador level relations.[2]
2	Italy	12 June 1956[22]	The Supreme Court of Cassation decreed on 6 June 1974 that, "the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta constitutes a sovereign international subject, in all terms equal, even if without territory, to a foreign state with which Italy has normal diplomatic relations, so there is no doubt, as already this Supreme Court has warned, that it has the legal treatment of foreign states".[88] As Italy recognizes, in addition to extraterritoriality, the exercise by SMOM of all the prerogatives of sovereignty in its headquarters, Italian sovereignty and SMOM sovereignty uniquely coexist without overlapping.[8]
–	Palestinian Authority		Ambassador level relations.[1]

Official relations

Name	Official relations established	Region	Notes
Belgium	1960	Europe
Switzerland	1960	Europe
France	1982	Europe	France does not recognise the SMOM as a subject of international law.[89]
Luxembourg	1995	Europe
Canada	4 June 2008	North America	Canada established official relations in June 2008, with its Ambassador to the Holy See accredited to the Order of Malta.[90]
United Kingdom	9 October 2024	Europe	The Sovereign Military Order of Malta established official relations with the United Kingdom on 9 October 2024.[91]

Unofficial relations

The Order of Malta has unofficial relations with Taiwan through the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See in Rome (Italy).^[92]

Countries without established relations

Countries with which the Order currently has no established relations:

• Europe: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands (recognises as a knightly order),^[93] Norway, Sweden, Switzerland
• Africa: Algeria, Botswana, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ghana, Libya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• Asia: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Indonesia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia (accepts its stamps),^[94] Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
• Oceania: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
• The Americas: Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Mexico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America

Intergovernmental organizations

The Order of Malta has observer status at the following organizations:^[2]

Organization	observer since	Notes
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
International Atomic Energy Agency
United Nations General Assembly
International Fund for Agricultural Development
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
World Food Programme
World Health Organization

The Order of Malta has delegations or representations to the following organizations:^[2]

Organization	participates since	Notes
Council of Europe
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission
Inter-American Development Bank
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Committee of Military Medicine
International Committee of the Red Cross
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Institute of Humanitarian Law
International Organization for Migration
Latin Union

See also

• List of diplomatic missions of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• List of diplomatic missions to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• List of permanent observers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the United Nations