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