With a great wealth of biodiversity and a wide variety of endemic plants and animals, Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean, 400 km east of the African coast (Mozambique and Tanzania) and straddling the Tropic of Capricorn.

It is the world's leading vanilla exporting country, with production accounting for about 80% of the world's vanilla production. The country is also a major exporter of coffee, pepper, lychees, and shrimp. .

Madagascar has been a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since November 17, 1995. Madagascar's accession to the WTO has allowed the country to access a wider market for its products and services, as well as to benefit from a more stable and predictable trading environment.

Madagascar has also been a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) since 2008. As a member of SADC, Madagascar benefits from greater economic cooperation with other SADC member countries.

Madagascar became a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in 2000. Its mission is to "work towards achieving sustainable economic and social progress in all Member States through the strengthening of integration and cooperation in all areas of development.

Madagascar is a founding member of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), an intergovernmental organization created in 1984 to foster regional cooperation among island states in the Indian Ocean region. As a member of the IOC, Madagascar collaborates with the other Member States (Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles and France, representing Reunion Island) to promote the economic, social and cultural development of the region. The IOC promotes cooperation in areas such as trade, transport, tourism, energy, environment and maritime security, in order to strengthen regional integration and foster sustainable economic growth.

Although having signed the agreement establishing the African Continental Economic Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on March 21, 2018 in Kigali, Madagascar is one of the ten countries that have not yet ratified the said agreement.

Known for its unique landscapes, Madagascar is full of surprising riches. Also nicknamed the Big Island, it currently has 28.43 million inhabitants in 2021 (Source: World Bank). Its capital, Antananarivo, is the economic, administrative and political centre of Madagascar