Costa Rica » International Relations

The Costa Rica's Relations with International Community

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 Jose.

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 May 22 elections in Peru when international observer missions found electoral machinery not prepared for the vote count.

Costa Rica maintains official relations with the Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan") instead of the People's Republic of China. Strong economic ties exist between the two countries with projects having included the recent construction of a suspension bridge with Taiwanese capital to join the Costa Rican mainland with the Nicoya Peninsula. The bridge has been a boon for the tourist industry in the peninsula by reducing travel time to some locations by as much as two hours.

Trade and Investment with UK

UK exports to Costa Rica in 2005 totaled £ 40.1m. UK imports from Costa Rica in 2005 totaled £ 562m. In 2005, the peak exports to Costa Rica in £m (FOB, UK) were: Petroleum products £14.41m, alcoholic beverages £4.08m, road vehicles £ 2.99m, specialized machinery $2.32m. Main products imported from Costa Rica in £m were (CIF, UK): Electronic components £459m, Fruit & vegetables £92.12m, Transport equipment £26.9m, Crude animal & vegetable materials £1.79m.