2026 in the Cook Islands

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Events in the year 2026 in the Cook Islands .

Incumbents

• Monarch: Charles III
• Queen's/King's Representative: Tom Marsters
• Prime Minister: Mark Brown

Events

• Economic growth was expected "to be 2.9% in 2026 in the Cook Islands." ^[1]

January

• A growing "shadow fleet" of Russian and Chinese vessels were registering in the Cook Islands, for as little as a few thousand dollars, which has created an international incident involving New Zealand. ^[2]

• Majority and minority political parties in the Cook Islands traded barbs over each other's leaders "wasting parliament time". ^[3]

Scheduled

• 2026 Cook Islands general election ^[4]

See also

• History of the Cook Islands

References

1. "Tourism to Continue to Drive Growth in the Pacific, but at a Slower Pace — ADB". Asian Development Bank. 9 April 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
2. "New Zealand warned Pacific neighbour over oil smuggling 'shadow fleet'". AFP. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2025. A "shadow fleet" of 19 tankers suspected of smuggling oil for Russia and Iran was flagged by New Zealand with Cook Islands authorities in 2024, according to a confidential list obtained by AFP.
3. Mika, Talaia (19 January 2026). "Ministers' 'long-winded' answers wasting Parliament time: Heather" . Retrieved 21 January 2025. Cook Islands United Party leader Teariki Heather has pushed back against claims that Opposition MPs waste valuable parliamentary question time, arguing instead that the real issue lies with Ministers who fail to give direct answers and consume most of the limited time allocated.
4. Mika, Talaia (17 January 2026). "Parliament eyes 31 sitting days before 2026 election" . Retrieved 21 January 2026. Parliament exceeded its legal requirements by sitting for 22 days in 2025 and is projected to sit for 31 days in the first half of 2026 before dissolving for the general election.