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Sub Saharan Africa
Chad |
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Last reviewed: 18 December 2007 |
Country information
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
After two and a half decades of tension related to the border dispute and to Libyan support for Chadian dissidents, relations with the Libyan regime have improved since the late 1990s, despite suspicions that Ghadafi continues to support the MDJT (see above). Chad was a founding member of the Libyan backed organisation COMESSA (now called CENSAD) formed in 1997. Chad's relations with its neighbour to the South, the Central African Republic, have improved since General (now President) Bozize took power in Bangui in 2003, using Chad as a rear base.
Relations with Sudan are complex. Frequent agreements not to support rebels in each others’ countries have not held. The result is ongoing rebel activity on both sides of the border. Around 220,000 refugees from Darfur and a further 120,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) are now present in Chad, according to UNHCR. It is widely believed that Deby is under pressure from his own Zagahwa ethnic group to support the largely Zagahwa rebellion in Darfur. However, he is reluctant to do so as he fears that losing Sudanese support would compromise the security of his regime.
Chad has generally looked to France as its main ally in international affairs. France considers Chad an important part of its Africa policy, not least due to the presence of a French military base near N'djamena, which hosts the "Epervier" operation established in 1986 to attempt to control northern Chad and counter Libyan incursions. While relations were strained at times in the 1990s, France and the Chadian government are now close. Chad is a member of the Franc Zone and a founding member of the French backed regional body CEMAC. In 2003 and 2004 the Chadian army participated in American led operations against insurgents from Algeria who had entered Chad from Niger, as part of the "Pan-Sahel Initiative".
Investir en zone franc
African Union
Chad's Relations with the UK
The UK is represented in Chad via its High Commission in Yaounde, Cameroon. The UK has no major commercial or political links with Chad, although Chad's oil sector offers new commercial opportunities.
