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São Tomé e Principe - US Relations

The United States was among the first countries to accredit an ambassador to Sao Tome and Principe. The U.S. Ambassador based in Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome on a non-resident basis. The Ambassador and Embassy staff make regular visits to the islands. The first Sao Tomean Ambassador to the United States, resident in New York City, was accredited in 1985. In 1986, Sao Tomean President da Costa visited the United States and met with Vice President George H.W. Bush.

US relations with Sao Tome are excellent. In 1992, the Voice of America (VOA) and the Government of Sao Tome signed a long-term agreement for the establishment of a relay transmitter station in Sao Tome; VOA currently broadcasts to much of Africa from this facility. In 2007, the Millennium Challenge Corporation approved a threshold program which ended in 2011 to improve the capacity of the country's tax administration and customs enforcement agencies. Program successes include significant increases in tax revenues and the creation of a “One Stop Shop” for more efficient and cost effective business startup procedures. In recent years, the U.S. military and Sao Tome and Principe have conducted joint maritime exercises focused on securing the Gulf of Guinea. The U.S. Government also maintains a number of smaller assistance programs in Sao Tome, administered through nongovernmental organizations or the Embassy in Libreville.

In 2003 US officials prepared a report on how to restructure Sao Tome's army, but it had yet to be implemented. The US government also gave one boat as the starting point for a Coast Guard. Ten years later, not one barrel of oil had been extracted from Sao Tome's EEZ. The initial momentum of the American companies, as curbed in part to instability, the lack of infrastructure for the activity mining, as well as to the port level and airports and to the existence of suppliers alternative, with oil "ready to deliver". Sao Tome's potential is considerable, but the resulting challenges also loom large, for the country as a whole.