(ZENIT News / Rome, 01.08.2024).- In the context of the traditional audience granted by the Pope to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, the Vatican’s Secretary of State has updated information about the countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.
As of the beginning of 2024, the Holy See has diplomatic relations with 184 countries. In addition to these, the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta are included. The embassies with headquarters in Rome, including those of the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, total 91. The offices of the League of Arab States, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are also based in Rome.
During the year 2023, on February 23, the Holy See established full diplomatic relations with the Sultanate of Oman. On July 19, the «Supplementary Agreement to the Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mutual Relations of September 24, 1998,» concerning the granting of visas and residence permits to ecclesiastical and religious personnel from abroad, signed on September 14, 2022, was ratified. On July 27, the «Agreement on the Status of the Pontifical Representative Resident and the Office of the Pontifical Representative Resident in Vietnam» was concluded with Vietnam, with the subsequent appointment of a Pontifical Representative Resident on December 23.
By the end of 2023, the United Nations recognizes a total of 195 countries. This would mean that the Holy See does not have diplomatic relations with 11, making it one of the «countries» with the largest network of relations in the world. Spain was the first country in history with which the Holy See established relations, and the Sultanate of Oman is the latest.
