Comoros Islands

French presence

Consular section in Moroni (Grande-Comore); branch in Mutsamudu (Anjouan)
French community in the Comoros: 1,735 registered (March 2022), 61% are binationals.

Comorian community in France: approximately 400,000, including around 125,000 in Mayotte

Visits and meetings

21 June 2013: President Hollande received President Ikililou at the Élysée Palace to sign the declaration of friendship / 23 August 2014: President Hollande took part in the Indian Ocean Commission Summit in Moroni / 26 May 2016: Mr André Vallini attended the inauguration ceremony of President Azali / 4 October 2016: meeting of President Hollande with President Azali at the Élysée Palace, ahead of the fourth HCP, chaired for the Comoros by Mr Mohamed Bacar Dossar, Minister of Foreign Affairs / 12 September 2017: fifth HCP meeting, co-chaired by Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and his counterpart, Mr Mohamed Souef / 11 April 2018: meeting between Mr Jean Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Souef and President Azali in Moroni / 19 April 2018: meeting between Mr Mohamed Souef and Mr Jean Yves Le Drian in Paris / 24 August 2018: meeting between Mr Mohamed Souef and Mr Jean Yves Le Drian in Paris / 11 November 2018: President Azali Assoumani took part in the Paris Peace Forum and met with President Macron / 22-25 July 2019: President Azali Assoumani made an official visit to France – meeting with President Macron on 22 July 2019. 
Meeting between President Azali Assoumani and Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on 2 December 2019 (Comoros Donors Conference)
Meeting between the Minister of State, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, and Mr Mohamed Souef on 6 March 2020 during the IOC Summit
Video meeting between Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dhoihir Dhoulkamal, on 8 February 2021
Minister Dhoulkamal took part in the IOC Council of Ministers in La Réunion on 26 November 2021 and in Paris on 23 February, organized under the French Presidency of the European Union (Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister Delegate, was head of the French delegation).

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

French cooperation with the Union of the Comoros is governed by a joint programming framework document for 2015-2020, with a total budget of €135 million. The renewed partnership framework document signed between France and the Comoros on 22 July 2019 aims to multiply French development assistance, bringing it to €150 million over 3 years in the sectors of health, education and employment, especially youth employment.

France is also active in cultural cooperation. Alliance Française branches are present on each of the three islands of the Union of the Comoros (Grande-Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli), with 3,000 learners enrolled for French classes. The Henri Matisse French school is under contract with the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), and has many pupils in Moroni. Lastly, cooperation provision also includes a Campus France office with a study-in-France programme, attached to the Madagascar Institut Français.

Other cooperation

On 27 September 2010, France and the Union of the Comoros signed a new Defence Partnership Agreement to develop the Comorian armed forces’ capabilities and which provides for cooperation in the field of maritime safety.

France has also placed two international technical experts (ITE) at the disposal of the Union of the Comoros, one specialized in the fields of airport security and air and border policing, and another attached to the Interior Ministry to support it in saving lives at sea.