Foreign relations of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Contents

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is a sovereign entity maintaining diplomatic relations with 115 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 seven more states: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada, United Kingdom and Taiwan.[1][3][4] The Order exchanges ambassadors with the European Union and the State of Palestine.[1][2]

Bilateral relations

Diplomatic relations

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta maintains diplomatic relations with 114 United Nations members and the Holy See. It has moreover signed Declarations of Intent with Saint Kitts and Nevis (September 2025),[5] Vanuatu (September 2025)[6] and Palau (January 2026)[7] in preparation for establishing diplomatic relations.

#CountryDate
—Holy SeeFebruary 1930[8]
1RomaniaDecember 1932[9]
2Spain19 November 1938[10]
3Haiti1947[11]
4Panama2 August 1948[12]
5Argentina7 June 1951[13]
6Brazil6 December 1951[14][15]
7El Salvador1951[11]
8Colombia28 January 1953[16]
9Peru15 April 1953[17]
10Ecuador[18]29 July 1953[19]
11Chile24 February 1956[20]
12Italy[21]12 June 1956[22]
13Lebanon1956[11]
14Costa Rica8 August 1957[23]
15Nicaragua12 September 1957[24]
16Austria6 December 1957[25]
17Dominican Republic1957[26]
18Paraguay10 January 1958[27]
19Guatemala23 June 1959[28]
20Cuba29 July 1959[29]
21Honduras1959[26]
22Liberia1959[26]
23Cameroon4 July 1961[26]
24Somalia28 November 1961[26]
25Bolivia15 June 1962[30]
26Portugal19 December 1962[31]
27Gabon1963[26]
28Philippines24 April 1965[32]
29Uruguay1 July 1965[33]
30Senegal1965[26]
31Malta27 June 1966[34]
32Venezuela3 August 1970[35]
33Niger9 January 1971[36]
34EthiopiaFebruary 1971[37]
35Benin1972[26]
36Ivory Coast1972[26]
37Togo5 September 1973[38]
38Burkina Faso1973[26]
39Mauritania3 March 1977[39]
40Mauritius18 July 1978[40]
41Egypt1980[26]
42Central African Republic1981[26]
43Comoros1981[26]
44Thailand4 September 1984[41]
45Democratic Republic of the Congo1984[26]
46San Marino[42]4 March 1986[43]
47Guinea24 June 1986[44]
48Morocco4 December 1986[45][46]
49Mali1986[26]
50Chad1989[26]
51Czech Republic8 June 1990[47]
52Hungary15 June 1990[48]
53Poland9 July 1990[49]
54Madagascar1990[26]
55Lithuania9 July 1992[50]
56Slovenia15 July 1992[51]
57Russia7 August 1992[52]
58Croatia22 December 1992[53]
59Republic of the Congo1992[26]
60Cambodia1992[26]
61Sudan1992[26]
62Slovakia1 January 1993[54]
63Seychelles7 June 1994[55]
64Albania14 July 1994[56]
65Liechtenstein7 November 1994[57]
66Bulgaria11 November 1994[58]
67Latvia15 August 1995[59]
68Belarus30 April 1996[60]
69North Macedonia12 July 1996[60]
70Equatorial Guinea16 July 1996[60]
71Cape Verde1996[26]
72Bosnia and Herzegovina31 January 1997[61]
73Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesFebruary 1997[62]
74Federated States of Micronesia12 November 1997[63]
75Guinea-Bissau1997[26]
76Mozambique1997[26]
77São Tomé and Príncipe1997[26]
78Armenia29 May 1998[64]
79Georgia24 July 1998[65]
80Suriname30 April 1999[66]
81Guyana19 May 1999[67]
82Eritrea1999[26]
83Saint Lucia1999[26]
84Belize1999[26]
85Afghanistan1999[26]
86Kazakhstan26 April 2001[68][69]
87Moldova5 May 2001[70]
88Serbia11 May 2001[71]
89Tajikistan1 June 2001[72]
90Marshall Islands3 May 2002[73]
91Kiribati2002[26]
92Jordan29 June 2003[74]
93Angola13 December 2005[75]
94Montenegro5 September 2006[76]
95Timor-Leste18 September 2006[77]
96Kenya14 September 2007[78]
97Monaco18 October 2007[79]
98Turkmenistan30 October 2007[78]
99Ukraine9 February 2008[78]
100Bahamas11 November 2008[78]
101Sierra Leone28 November 2008[78]
102Namibia31 March 2009[78]
103Antigua and Barbuda20 October 2009[78]
104Cyprus6 June 2012[80]
105South Sudan14 November 2014[81]
106Grenada6 November 2015[82]
107Germany15 November 2017[83]
108Nauru5 October 2018[84]
109Estonia11 March 2020[85]
110Greece2 December 2021[86]
111Lesotho7 December 2021[87]
112Gambia20 September 2023[88]
113Burundi25 October 2024[89]
114Andorra16 June 2025[90]

Other countries

#NameDiplomatic relations establishedNotes
–European Union1987Ambassador level relations.[2]
–Palestinian AuthorityAmbassador level relations.[1]

Official relations

NameOfficial relations establishedRegionNotes
Belgium1960Europe
Switzerland1960Europe
France1982EuropeFrance does not recognise the SMOM as a subject of international law.[91]
Luxembourg1995Europe
Canada4 June 2008North AmericaCanada established official relations in June 2008, with its Ambassador to the Holy See accredited to the Order of Malta.[92]
United Kingdom9 October 2024EuropeThe Sovereign Military Order of Malta established official relations with the United Kingdom on 9 October 2024.[93]
TaiwanAsiaThe Order of Malta has official relations with Taiwan through the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See in Rome (Italy).[94]

Unofficial relations

#NameRegionNotes
–NetherlandsEuropeRecognises it as a knightly order[95]
–MongoliaAsiaAccepts its stamps[96]

Intergovernmental organizations

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

Organizationobserver sinceNotes
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]

Organizationparticipates sinceNotes
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

References

  1. 1.[1.2][1.3][1.4]Sovereign Military Order of Malta. "Bilateral relations". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  2. 2.[2.2][2.3][2.4][2.5]Sovereign Military Order of Malta. "Multilateral relations". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. 3.Canada, Global Affairs (2015-10-19). "Canada and the Order of Malta". GAC. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  4. 4."The Order of Malta and the United Kingdom establish official relations and strengthen bilateral cooperation with the signing of a Strategic Memorandum of Understanding". Order of Malta. Rome. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  5. 5."Declaration of Intent Signed with Saint Kitts and Nevis". 25 September 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  6. 6."Diplomatic Relations: Declaration of Intent Signed between Order of Malta and Vanuatu". 26 September 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.)
  7. 7."Diplomatic Relations: Declaration of Intent Signed between the Order of Malta and the Republic of Palau". 13 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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  9. 9."Diplomatic Relations of Romania". Retrieved 2 July 2022.
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  18. 18.On 10 February 2012, President Rafael Correa issued a decree to withdraw recognition and initiate the process of cancelling relations. Later on, the relations were restored by President Lenín Moreno on 24 September 2019.
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  21. 21.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". 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.
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  32. 32."The Republic of the Philippines and the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta celebrate 55 years of formal diplomatic relations today, April 24!". 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  33. 33."Hoy cumplimos 61 años de relaciones diplomáticas con la Soberana Orden Militar y Hospitalaria de San Juan de Jerusalén, de Rodas y de Malta" (in Spanish). 1 July 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
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  36. 36.Bulletin de l'Afrique noire, 627–651 (in French). 1971. Prochaine ouverture de relations diplomatiques, au niveau des ambassades, entre le Niger et l'Ordre de Malte...
  37. 37.Marchés tropicaux et méditerranéens, 27 (in French). 1971. p. 766.
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  39. 39.Revue française d'études politiques africaines, 33–137. Société africaine d'édition. 1977. p. 14.
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  42. 42.Official relations between SMOM and San Marino were established on 23 June 1935; the treaty establishing relations described the parties as "due Stati" ("two States"). These ties were elevated to diplomatic relations on 4 March 1986.
  43. 43."Ratifica dello scambio di note tra la Repubblica di San Marino e il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta per l'elevazione delle rispettive rappresentanze diplomatiche a livello di ambasciata". 4 March 1986. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  44. 44.Sub-Saharan Africa Report Issues 75-81. United States. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1986. p. 9.... The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guinea has the pleasure of informing the nation and the world that the Republic of Guinea and the Sovereign Order of Malta ... have decided to establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level as of 24 June 1986.
  45. 45."Relations with Morocco". Sovereign Order of Malta — Embassy to Morocco. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  46. 46.Daily Report, Middle East & Africa. Vol. 7–8. United States. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1988. p. 400.
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  70. 70.Primul Ambasador al Republicii Moldova pe lângă Ordinul Suveran Militar de Malta – decorat cu o înaltă distincție (foto) (in Romanian).
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  74. 74."Full diplomatic relations established between the Order of Malta and Jordan". 2 July 2003. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  75. 75."Relations diplomatiques entre l'Ordre de Malte et l'Angola" (in French). 15 December 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  76. 76."Tabela priznanja i uspostavljanja diplomatskih odnosa". Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  77. 77."The Order of Malta establishes diplomatic relations with Timor-Leste". 21 September 2006. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  78. 78.[78.2][78.3][78.4][78.5][78.6][78.7]"Activity report 2010" (PDF). April 2010. p. 90. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  79. 79."Rapport de Politique Extérieure 2007" (in French). p. 44. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  80. 80.Sovereign Military Order of Malta (6 June 2012). "Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Sovereign Order of Malta formally established". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  81. 81.Sovereign Military Order of Malta (17 November 2014). "The Order of Malta strengthens its action in South Sudan three years after the birth of the nation". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  82. 82.Sovereign Military Order of Malta (12 November 2015). "Establishment of diplomatic relations with Grenada". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  83. 83.Sovereign Military Order of Malta (15 November 2017). "Official Visit of the German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, for the opening of diplomatic relations between Germany and the Order of Malta". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  84. 84."Diplomatic relations between the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Republic of Nauru". orderofmalta.int. 11 October 2018.
  85. 85.Sovereign Military Order of Malta (11 March 2020). "Estonia and Sovereign Order of Malta establish diplomatic relations".
  86. 86.Sovereign Military Order of Malta (4 December 2021). "Sovereign Order of Malta announces opening of diplomatic relations with Hellenic Republic". orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  87. 87."Order of Malta's mission to the UN in New York announces opening of diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Lesotho". 7 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  88. 88."The Order of Malta announces the opening of diplomatic relations with the Republic of The Gambia". Sovereign Order of Malta. 21 September 2023.
  89. 89."Today, October 25, 2024, marks a historic moment with the signing of the Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Burundi and the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta". 25 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  90. 90."Opening of diplomatic relations between Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Principality of Andorra". 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  91. 91."The Sovereignty of the Order of Malta". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  92. 92."Canada and the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta". Order of Malta.
  93. 93."The Order of Malta and the United Kingdom establish official relations and strengthen bilateral cooperation with the signing of a Strategic Memorandum of Understanding". Order of Malta. 9 October 2024.
  94. 94."Donation to the Holy Family Hospital from the Republic of China (Taiwan)". orderofmalta.int. Archived from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  95. 95.The 10 October 2017 decree of the Chancellor of the Dutch Orders lists the SMOM as one of three "Recognised (knightly) orders" (Erkende (ridderlijke) orden) and authorises its members to wear their decorations in the Netherlands.
  96. 96.Sovereign Military Order of Malta. "Associate Countries". orderofmalta.int. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2017-01-11.