Central African Republic History
Central African Republic (06/05)
The Central African Republic is an active member in several Central African organizations, including the Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) Central African Peace and Security Council (COPAX--still under formation), and the Central Bank of Central African States (BEAC). Standardization of tax, customs, and security arrangements between the Central African states is a major foreign policy objective of the C.A.R. Government. The C.A.R. is a participant in the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), and the Organization of African Unity (OAU--now the African Union). Libya and, to a lesser degree, Sudan have shown increased interest in cooperation with the C.A.R. over the last year. ... [Read More]
Senegal (06/05)
Senegal has participated in many international and regional peacekeeping missions. Its history of participation in peacekeeping is impressive. Most recently, Senegal provided peacekeeping forces for the ECOWAS mission in Liberia (ECOMIL) as well as the ECOWAS mission in Cote d’Ivoire (ECOMICI), with General P.K. Fall, who is now Chief of Defense of the Senegalese Armed Forces, acting as overall Force Commander. In 2000, Senegal sent a battalion to the Democratic Republic of Congo to participate in MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission, and agreed to deploy a U.S.-trained battalion to Sierra Leone to participate in UNAMSIL, another UN peacekeeping mission. A Senegalese contingent was deployed on a peacekeeping mission to the Central African Republic in 1997, and in 1994, Senegal sent a battalion-sized force to Rwanda to participate in the UN peacekeeping mission there. In 1992 Senegal sent 1,500 men to the ECOMOG peacekeeping group in Liberia, and in 1991, it was the only Sub-Saharan natio ... [Read More]
Congo (Kinshasa) (06/05)
Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. ... [Read More]
Background Notes
111111-- Central African Republic (06/05) ... 111111-- Czech Republic (04/05) ... 111111-- Dominican Republic (05/05) ... [Read More]
U.S. Department of State FOIA Electronic Reading Room--Post Reports
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Photos by Regions and Topics
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Dominican Republic (05/05)
The Dominican Republic’s most important trading partner is the U.S. (87% of export revenues); other markets include Canada, Western Europe, and Japan. The country exports free-trade-zone manufactured products (garments, footwear, etc.), nickel, sugar, coffee, cacao, and tobacco, and it imports foodstuffs, petroleum, industrial raw materials, and capital goods. On August 5, 2004, the Dominican Republic signed a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and five Central American countries to integrate into the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement. Foreign direct investment (FDI) was $309 million in 2003; although final figures are not yet available, it is expected to be about $100 million for 2004, much of it directed at the tourism sector, free trade zones, and telecommunication sector. Remittances were more than $2 billion in 2003. ... [Read More]
Costa Rica (08/04)
Costa Rica's infrastructure has suffered from a lack of maintenance and new investment. The country has an extensive road system of more than 30,000 kilometers, although much of it is in disrepair. Most parts of the country are accessible by road. The main highland cities in the country's Central Valley are connected by paved all-weather roads with the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and by the Pan American Highway with Nicaragua and Panama, the neighboring countries to the North and the South. Costa Rica's ports are struggling to keep pace with growing trade. They have insufficient capacity, and their equipment is in poor condition. The railroad does not function, with the exception of a couple of spurs reactivated by a U.S.-owned banana company. The government opened the ports and the railroad to competitive bidding opportunities for private investment and management, but U.S. companies chose not to participate in this process. Costa Rica has sought to widen its economic and trade ties, ... [Read More]
Madagascar (06/05)
Madagascar's population is predominantly of mixed Asian and African origin. Recent research suggests that the island was uninhabited until Indonesian seafarers arrived in roughly the first century A.D., probably by way of southern India and East Africa, where they acquired African wives and slaves. Subsequent migrations from both the Pacific and Africa further consolidated this original mixture, and 18 separate tribal groups emerged. Asian features are most predominant in the central highlands people, the Merina (3 million) and the Betsileo (2 million); the coastal people are of more clearly African origin. ... [Read More]
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