Cyprus and Central African Republic establish diplomatic relations

New York, United States. Cyprus and the Central African Republic established diplomatic relations on Monday, following a meeting between Foreign Ministers Constantinos Kombos and Sylvie Baipo Temon on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Kombos said the two ministers held a “fruitful discussion” and that he was “delighted to sign the joint communique establishing diplomatic relations”.

Cooperation

Kombos said he looked forward to working with Temon to identify areas of shared interest and opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic borders Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Cameroon, and has a population of around 5.5 million.

Its capital, Bangui, lies on the northern bank of the Ubangi River, opposite the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Historical background

The territory was established in 1903 as Ubangi-Shari, part of French Equatorial Africa. It became autonomous in 1958 after the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa, known as Mesan, won every seat in the 1957 territorial election.

Mesan leader Barthelemy Boganda became the country’s first prime minister and selected the name Central African Republic, reportedly envisaging a wider union of countries in the region.

Boganda was killed in an aeroplane crash in 1959. French newspaper L’Express reported that traces of explosives were found in the wreckage, though the cause of the crash was never determined.

Following his death, his cousin David Dacko took control of Mesan and the country. He became the Central African Republic’s first president when it gained full independence from France in 1960.

Dacko was overthrown in a 1965 coup d’état led by Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa. Bokassa declared himself president for life in 1972 and Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire in 1976.