The Cook Islands maintains diplomatic relations with various countries and is a member of multilateral organisations. While the country is in free association with New Zealand, which can act on the Cook Islands' "delegated authority [...] to assist the Cooks Islands" in foreign affairs, [1] the Cook Islands nevertheless enters into treaty obligations and otherwise "interacts with the international community as a sovereign and independent state." [1]
In the 1980s the Cook Islands became a member of several United Nations specialized agencies: the World Health Organization in 1984, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UNESCO in 1985, and the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1986. The Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs records that in 1988 New Zealand declared "that its future participation in international agreements would no longer extend to the Cook Islands..." [2] In 1991 the Cook Islands became a full member of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) Preparatory Committee and the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change (INC), which the Repertory of Practice describes as "further evidence that the international community had accepted the Cook Islands as a “State” under international law." [2] The United Nations Secretariat therefore "recognized the full treaty-making capacity of the Cook Islands" in 1992 [2] and the Secretary-General, in his capacity as the depository of multilateral treaties, decided that the Cook Islands could participate in treaties that were open to "all states". [3]
List of countries with which the Cook Islands maintains diplomatic relations:
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# | Country | Date |
1 | ![]() | 18 July 1991 [4] |
2 | ![]() | 2 May 1992 [5] |
3 | ![]() | 1993 [6] |
4 | ![]() | 1994 [6] |
5 | ![]() | 1994 [6] |
6 | ![]() | 12 August 1995 [7] |
7 | ![]() | 1995 [6] |
8 | ![]() | 9 February 1996 [8] |
9 | ![]() | 1996 [6] |
10 | ![]() | 25 July 1997 [9] |
11 | ![]() | 4 December 1997 [10] [ failed verification ] |
12 | ![]() | 29 January 1998 [11] |
13 | ![]() | May 1998 [12] [13] |
14 | ![]() | 14 July 1998 [14] |
— | ![]() | 29 April 1999 [15] |
15 | ![]() | 19 October 1999 [16] |
16 | ![]() | 11 September 2001 [17] |
17 | ![]() | 2 September 2002 [18] |
18 | ![]() | 2002 [6] |
19 | ![]() | 14 May 2003 [19] |
20 | ![]() | 9 October 2003 [20] |
21 | ![]() | 6 April 2005 [21] |
22 | ![]() | 24 May 2005 [22] |
23 | ![]() | April 2008 [23] |
24 | ![]() | 12 May 2008 [24] |
25 | ![]() | 20 October 2008 [25] |
26 | ![]() | 7 March 2011 [26] |
27 | ![]() | 16 June 2011 [27] |
28 | ![]() | 16 August 2011 [28] |
29 | ![]() | 12 December 2011 [29] |
30 | ![]() | 6 August 2012 [30] |
31 | ![]() | 12 February 2013 [31] |
32 | ![]() | 30 August 2013 [32] |
33 | ![]() | August 2013 [33] |
34 | ![]() | 1 September 2013 [34] |
35 | ![]() | 3 September 2013 [35] |
36 | ![]() | 3 September 2013 [35] |
37 | ![]() | 3 September 2013 [35] |
— | ![]() | 2013 [6] |
38 | ![]() | 2013 [6] |
39 | ![]() | 24 September 2014 [36] |
40 | ![]() | 18 November 2014 [37] |
— | ![]() | 28 May 2015 [38] |
41 | ![]() | 21 August 2015 [39] |
42 | ![]() | 3 August 2016 [40] |
43 | ![]() | September 2017 [41] |
44 | ![]() | 6 October 2017 [42] |
45 | ![]() | 13 October 2017 [43] |
46 | ![]() | 9 November 2017 [44] |
47 | ![]() | 5 August 2018 [45] |
48 | ![]() | 25 August 2018 [46] |
49 | ![]() | 20 September 2018 [47] |
50 | ![]() | 20 October 2018 [48] |
51 | ![]() | 12 July 2019 [49] |
52 | ![]() | 8 December 2021 [50] |
53 | ![]() | 26 April 2022 [51] |
54 | ![]() | 21 November 2022 [52] |
55 | ![]() | 11 April 2023 [53] |
56 | ![]() | 20 May 2023 [54] |
57 | ![]() | 25 September 2023 [55] |
58 | ![]() | 8 November 2023 [56] |
59 | ![]() | 21 November 2023 [57] |
60 | ![]() | 8 March 2024 [58] |
61 | ![]() | 11 April 2024 [59] |
62 | ![]() | 21 May 2024 [60] |
63 | ![]() | 31 May 2024 [61] |
Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
---|---|---|
![]() | 1998 [62] | |
![]() | 1993 [6] |
|
![]() | 2023 [65] | The Cook Islands signed the Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty in 1980. [66] The US established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands in 25 September 2023. [65] |
The following countries have established consular relations with the Cook Islands only.
Singapore has established diplomatic relations with Cook Islands, ... Niue, ...