Foreign relations of the Cook Islands

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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]

Contents

History

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]

Diplomatic relations

List of countries with which the Cook Islands maintains diplomatic relations:

Diplomatic relations of Cook Islands.svg
#CountryDate
1Flag of Norway.svg Norway 18 July 1991 [4]
2Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia 2 May 1992 [5]
3Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 1993 [6]
4Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 1994 [6]
5Flag of Nauru.svg Nauru 1994 [6]
6Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal 12 August 1995 [7]
7Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg Papua New Guinea 1995 [6]
8Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa 9 February 1996 [8]
9Flag of Iran.svg Iran 1996 [6]
10Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 25 July 1997 [9]
11Flag of Spain.svg Spain 29 January 1998 [10]
12Flag of India.svg India May 1998 [11] [12]
13Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji 14 July 1998 [13]
Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg Holy See 29 April 1999 [14]
14Flag of France.svg France 19 October 1999 [15]
15Flag of Germany.svg Germany 11 September 2001 [16]
16Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba 2 September 2002 [17]
17Flag of East Timor.svg Timor-Leste 2002 [6]
18Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 14 May 2003 [18]
19Flag of Italy.svg Italy 9 October 2003 [19]
20Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 6 April 2005 [20]
21Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand 24 May 2005 [21]
22Flag of Israel.svg Israel April 2008 [22]
23Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 12 May 2008 [23]
24Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 20 October 2008 [24]
25Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 7 March 2011 [25]
26Flag of Japan.svg Japan 16 June 2011 [26]
27Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 16 August 2011 [27]
28Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines 12 December 2011 [28]
29Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore 6 August 2012 [29]
30Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 22 February 2013 [30]
31Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa 30 August 2013 [31]
32Flag of Tuvalu.svg Tuvalu August 2013 [32]
33Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg Solomon Islands 1 September 2013 [33]
34Flag of Kiribati.svg Kiribati 3 September 2013 [34]
35Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands 3 September 2013 [34]
36Flag of Palau.svg Palau 3 September 2013 [34]
Flag of Niue.svg Niue 2013 [6]
37Flag of Vanuatu.svg Vanuatu 2013 [6]
38Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg Federated States of Micronesia 24 September 2014 [35]
39Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga 18 November 2014 [36]
Flag of Kosovo.svg Kosovo 28 May 2015 [37]
40Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil 21 August 2015 [38]
41Flag of Chile.svg Chile 3 August 2016 [39]
42Flag of Peru.svg Peru September 2017 [40]
43Flag of Malta.svg Malta 6 October 2017 [41]
44Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland 13 October 2017 [42]
45Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg Antigua and Barbuda 9 November 2017 [43]
46Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 5 August 2018 [44]
47Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia 25 August 2018 [45]
48Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 20 September 2018 [46]
49Flag of Greece.svg Greece 20 October 2018 [47]
50Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 12 July 2019 [48]
51Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait 8 December 2021 [49]
52Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam 26 April 2022 [50]
53Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 21 November 2022 [51]
54Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia 11 April 2023 [52]
55Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 20 May 2023 [53]
56Flag of the United States.svg United States 25 September 2023 [54]
57Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana 8 November 2023 [55]
58Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 21 November 2023 [56]
59Flag of Panama.svg Panama 8 March 2024 [57]
60Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 11 April 2024 [58]
61Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador 21 May 2024 [59]
62Flag of Seychelles.svg Seychelles 31 May 2024 [60]
63Flag of Poland.svg Poland 20 March 2025 [61]
64Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan 29 April 2025 [62]
65Flag of Cambodia.svg Cambodia 14 May 2025 [63]

Bilateral relations

CountryFormal Relations BeganNotes
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1997 [9]

The Chinese Embassy to New Zealand in Wellington is also accredited to the Cook Islands. [64]

Flag of India.svg India 1998 [65]
  • The Indian High Commission in Suva, Fiji is accredited to the Cook Islands. [65]
Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 1993 [6]
  • The Cook Islands maintains a High Commission in Wellington and a Consul-General in Auckland. [66]
  • New Zealand maintains a High Commission in Rarotonga. [67]
Flag of the United States.svg United States 2023 [68]

The Cook Islands signed the Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty in 1980. [69] The US established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands in 25 September 2023. [68]

Consular relations

The following countries have established consular relations with the Cook Islands only.

International organisation participation

43rd Pacific Islands Forum, in the Cook Islands, 28.8.-1.9.2012 43rd Pacific43rd Pacific Islands Forum, Cook Islands. Islands Forum, Cook Islands. (10656271245).jpg
43rd Pacific Islands Forum, in the Cook Islands, 28.8.-1.9.2012

Participation in international treaties and conventions

See also

Notes

  1. Cook Islands Honorary Consul is appointed to and acknowledged in Monaco since 2007 or before. [70] [71]
  2. including the Facility Agreement with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. [77]

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs, Supplement No. 8, Volume VI at para 11 Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties (United Nations, New York, 1999) at para 86
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  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (2015). "Pacific relations". Cook Islands Government. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
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  10. "Islas Cook" (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 3. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  11. Summary of World Broadcasts: Asia, Pacific. Vol. 3960–3971. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2000. p. 11.
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  18. "Countries with which Jamaica has Established Diplomatic Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica. 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
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  25. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (2011-03-07). "Cook Islands and Switzerland establish diplomatic relations". Cook Islands Government. Archived from the original on 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
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  29. "Singapore established bilateral relations with Niue and Cook Islands on 6 August 2012". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Singapore has established diplomatic relations with Cook Islands, ... Niue, ...
  30. "KOREA ESTABLISHES DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE COOK ISLANDS". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2014. The Cook Islands will mark the 190th country with which Korea has forged diplomatic relations.
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  37. Gëzim Visoka (2018). Acting Like a State: Kosovo and the Everyday Making of Statehood. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 219–221. ISBN   9781138285330.
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