Different countries, same flags. The strange case that reached the UN

Two countries that rarely appear in the news almost came to an international conflict… caricatured. Let’s travel to Romania and Chad.

A Romania is in eastern Europe. THE Chad is in the center of Africa.

They are not exactly the most distant countries, as 3,430 kilometers are not
It is the greatest distance between two countries on our planet.

They are also not exactly neighbors, they are not the closest countries. But there is a context that brings them together. And a lot.

Romania and Chad have almost no relations, whether diplomatic or commercial. There are no relevant direct trade agreements that we know of; Chad does not have a Romanian embassy, ​​Romania does not have a Chadian embassy.

There were 120 Romanian soldiers in Chad, as part of a European effort in that African country and in the Central African Republic.

So what brings them together? THE flag.

Let’s remember the flag of Romania:

And now we take a look at the Chadian flag:

Then. “Discover the differences”.

In fact, the national flags of Romania and Chad are practically the same. Maybe a slight variation in shading? Darkest blue? But differences are imperceptible at first glance.

And of course the question arises: “Who was born first?“.

Well, here too the answer is complex. In an immediate reaction, we would say Chad – has had this flag since 1959, the year following its independence.

A Romania has been using this flag since 1989, but… I’ve had it since 1866.

We explain: this was the flag until 1947, before Romania became the Socialist Republic of Romania (linked to the USSR, yes). There the flag maintained its colors but gained a coat of arms in the center.

Near the end of the USSR, in 1989, the Romanian Revolution ended the communist regime and established modern-day Romania.

In other words, Romania regained the flag it had. But in the meantime, during the “era” of the Romanian flag with the coat of arms, the Chadian flag emerged.

They stayed two identical flags.

And now? Nothing now.

As reported by , 20 years ago information emerged in Romania that the Government of Chad had taken the matter to the United Nations (HER).

Even so, the president of Romania at the time, Ion Iliescu, assured that his country’s flag would not change: “The tricolor belongs to us. We will not give up our flag“.

Furthermore, according to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flag remained registered officially at the Paris Convention of 1997, within the scope of industrial property protection – which is administered by a specialized UN agency. If someone had a complaint to make, they only had one year to do so; and no complaints were registered.

Conclusion: two countries, almost identical flags. And so they continue.

By the way… How about the Andorra flag?