Editing Foreign relations of Kiribati (section)

== Bilateral relations ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Country
! style="width:12%;"| Formal Relations Began
!Notes
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Australia}}||12 July 1979||

* Australia has a high commission in [[Tarawa]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kiribati.embassy.gov.au/ |title=High Commission of Australia in Tarawa |access-date=24 March 2020 |archive-date=14 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014232510/https://kiribati.embassy.gov.au/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Kiribati has an honorary consulate in [[Burradoo, New South Wales]].
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|China}}||25 June 1980, broke off 29 November 2003. Restored 27 September 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=People's Republic of China and Kiribati resumption diplomatic relations|url=https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceth/eng/zgyw/t1703154.htm|access-date=16 December 2021|archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216003036/https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceth/eng/zgyw/t1703154.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>||
{{main|China–Kiribati relations}}
[[File:五月二十三日總統接見吉里巴斯總統馬茂(Taneti Maamau)伉儷乙行 (27208262585).jpg|thumb|Kiribati President [[Taneti Mamau]] and Republic of China President [[Tsai Ing-wen]] in May 2016.]]

Kiribati firstly established diplomatic relations with the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) in 1980. At that time, Kiribati had been the home to a satellite tracking base for [[Chinese space program|PRC space program]] from 1997 until 2003.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Windybank |first1=Sue |title=Why China first wooed then jilted Kiribati |url=https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/opinion/why-china-first-wooed-then-jilted-kiribati/ |publisher=[[Centre for Independent Studies]] |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911154147/https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/opinion/why-china-first-wooed-then-jilted-kiribati/ |archive-date=11 September 2024 |date=29 January 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Guardian 1 Dec 2003">{{cite news |last1=Fickling |first1=David |title=Diplomacy for sale |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/01/worlddispatch.china |access-date=8 February 2025 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=1 December 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815061251/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/01/worlddispatch.china |archive-date=15 August 2024}}</ref> On 7 November 2003, Kiribati established diplomatic relations with the [[Republic of China]] (ROC).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Melodie |title=Taiwan forges diplomatic ties with Kiribati |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/11/08/2003075024 |access-date=8 February 2025 |work=[[Taipei Times]] |date=8 November 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414140325/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/11/08/2003075024 |archive-date=14 April 2024}}</ref> Although it did not sever ties with the PRC, expressing the intention to continue relations, [[Government of China|Beijing]] suspended ties on 29 November after failed attempts to lobby President [[Anote Tong]] to change his mind.<ref name="Guardian 1 Dec 2003" />

On 9 January 2004, the ROC opened its embassy in Kiribati.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/01/10/2003087023|title=Embassy opens in diplomatic ally Kiribati – Taipei Times|website=www.taipeitimes.com|date=10 January 2004|access-date=29 December 2018|archive-date=1 March 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040301134028/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/01/10/2003087023|url-status=live}}</ref> On 31 May 2013, Kiribati opened its embassy in [[Taipei]]. This was the first ever Kiribati embassy outside of [[Oceania]]. [[Teekoa Iuta]] became Kiribati's first ambassador to the country.<ref>[http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201305310039.aspx "Kiribati opens embassy in Taiwan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212093707/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201305310039.aspx |date=12 February 2015 }}, Focus Taiwan, 31 May 2013</ref> On 20 September 2019, Kiribati switched diplomatic relations from [[Taiwan]] to [[China]], effectively cutting all relations to [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite news|date=20 September 2019|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-20/kiribati-to-switch-diplomatic-ties-from-taiwan-to-china/11532192|title=Kiribati cuts ties with Taiwan in diplomatic switch to China days after Solomon Islands pivot|work=ABC News|access-date=20 September 2019|archive-date=20 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920192351/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-20/kiribati-to-switch-diplomatic-ties-from-taiwan-to-china/11532192|url-status=live}}</ref> Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said [[Beijing]] had used "dollar diplomacy" to influence the Kiribati government.<ref>{{cite news|date=20 September 2019|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49766262|publisher=SCMP|access-date=20 September 2019|title=Taiwan loses another ally as Kiribati cuts ties|work=BBC News|archive-date=20 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920134314/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49766262|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 July 2023, the Chinese military hospital ship “Peace Ark” made harbor at Tarawa, Kiribati, the first Chinese military vessel to visit Kiribati. The seven-day visit was to include humanitarian and medical assistance, part of China’s effort to build relationships in the region, and was to be followed by stops in Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.<ref>{{cite web |title= The Chinese navy hospital ship "Peace Ark" Arrived at Tarawa |url= http://ki.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/sghd/202307/t20230717_11114152.htm |date= 17 July 2023 |access-date= 9 August 2023 |author= Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Kiribati |website= ki.china-embassy.gov.cn |archive-date= 10 August 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230318/http://ki.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/sghd/202307/t20230717_11114152.htm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=Reuters.com |first=Yew Lun |last=Tian |title=Chinese military-run hospital ship arrives in Kiribati |date=16 July 2023 |access-date=9 August 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-military-run-hospital-ship-arrives-kiribati-2023-07-16/ |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230316/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-military-run-hospital-ship-arrives-kiribati-2023-07-16/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Cuba}}||2 September 2002<ref>{{Cite web|title=President of Kiribati in Cuba on Official Visit. Cuba and Kiribati established diplomatic relations on September 2, 2002|url=https://www.radiorebelde.cu/english/news/president-of-kiribati-in-cuba-on-official-visit-20101213/|url-status=dead|access-date=16 December 2021|archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216112255/https://www.radiorebelde.cu/english/news/president-of-kiribati-in-cuba-on-official-visit-20101213/}}</ref>||
{{main|Cuba–Kiribati relations}}
In the late 2000s, Kiribati began to strengthen its relations with [[Cuba]]. Cuba provides medical aid to Kiribati. There are currently sixteen doctors providing specialised medical care in Kiribati, with sixteen more scheduled to join them.<ref>[http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2007/10/01/six-more-cuban-physicians-to-serve-in-kiribati Pacific Magazine: Six More Cuban Physicians To Serve In Kiribati<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Cuban doctors have reportedly provided a dramatic improvement to the field of medical care in Kiribati, reducing the child mortality rate in that country by 80%<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=33793 |title=Cuban doctors reduce Kiribati infant mortality rate by 80 percent |date=19 July 2007 |work=[[Radio New Zealand International]] |access-date=30 September 2011 |archive-date=24 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924081452/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=33793 |url-status=live }}</ref> As of September 2008, over twenty I-Kiribati medical students are studying in Cuba, at Cuba's expense.<ref name="pacificmagazine.net">[http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/09/18/kiribatis-tong-meets-castro-heads-to-un "Kiribati's Tong Meets Castro, Heads To UN"]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Pacific Magazine'', 18 September 2008</ref><ref name="RNZI_26617">{{cite web |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=26617 |title=Kiribati discusses medical training with Cuba |date=6 September 2006 |work=[[Radio New Zealand International]] |access-date=30 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522033754/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=26617 |archive-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In September 2008, President [[Anote Tong]] attended the [[Cuban-Pacific relations#September 2008 ministerial meeting|first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting]] in [[Havana]]. By meeting President [[Raúl Castro]] to discuss "mutual friendship and cooperation", he became the first Pacific leader to pay a state visit to Cuba.<ref name="pacificmagazine.net" /> The two countries signed an agreement on increased cooperation in the field of health.<ref>[http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BD0E83D1D-EC73-4198-987B-72977C5E4DC7%7D)&language=EN "Cuba, Kiribati Cooperate in Health"]{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Prensa Latina, 18 September 2008</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|France}}||3 December 1982, broke off 6 September 1995, Restored 6 February 1997||
{{main|France–Kiribati relations}}

The two countries maintain official diplomatic relations, but no diplomatic presence on each other's territory; the French embassy in Suva is accredited to Kiribati.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pays-zones-geo_833/kiribati_585/france-kiribati_14611/relations-politiques_37705.html|title=French Foreign Affairs Ministry|access-date=29 December 2018|archive-date=25 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081125061342/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pays-zones-geo_833/kiribati_585/france-kiribati_14611/relations-politiques_37705.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1995, Kiribati briefly suspended its diplomatic relations with France in protest against [[French nuclear tests#Underground tests at Mururoa .26 Fangataufa|French nuclear tests]] at [[Mururoa]] in [[French Polynesia]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/2944816.stm "Timeline: Kiribati"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906040911/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/2944816.stm |date=6 September 2007 }}, BBC, 29 April 2009</ref> 
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Georgia}}||28 September 2012 ||
{{main|Georgia–Kiribati relations}} 
* Georgia is accredited to Kiribati from its embassy in Canberra, Australia.
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Germany}}||1 July 1980||
German shipping companies opened a trade school for seamen in 1967. It exists until today. About I-Kiribati 5,000 seaman work for German shipping companies today.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/7661/ |title=''Einflusskämpfe im Westpazifik (II)'', german-foreign-policy.com 5 July 2018. |date=5 July 2018 |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427002032/https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/7661/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Kiribati has an honorary consul in [[Hamburg]].
* Germany has no embassy in Tarawa. The German embassy in [[Wellington]] is accredited for Kiribati.
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|India}}||<!--Date started-->6 August 1985||{{Main|India–Kiribati relations}}
Diplomatic relations between Kiribati and India were established on 6 August 1985.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.pina.com.fj/?p=pacnews&m=read&o=10839573055de672cd439f0f733a57|title=Kiribati says Cooperation with India needs to be Consolidated|last=Association|first=Pacific Islands News|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-date=19 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419111942/http://www.pina.com.fj/?p=pacnews&m=read&o=10839573055de672cd439f0f733a57|url-status=live}}</ref> At the Post Forum Dialogue partner meeting in 2006, India announced that it would provide a grant-in-aid of US$100,000 annually to each of the 14 Pacific Island countries, including Kiribati.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDg9oAkwsXAC|title=Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West|last=Crocombe|first=R. G.|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Editorips@usp.ac.fj |isbn=9789820203884|language=en|access-date=16 August 2019|archive-date=27 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027170548/https://books.google.com/books?id=iDg9oAkwsXAC|url-status=live}}</ref> This was increased to US$125,000 from 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Tuvalu_2015_07_07.pdf|title=India-Tuvalu relations, Ministry of external affairs, India|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429113221/http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Tuvalu_2015_07_07.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|Mexico}}||13 October 2005||

* Kiribati does not have an accreditation to Mexico.
* Mexico is accredited to Kiribati from its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.senado.gob.mx/comisiones/relext_ap/docs/Dictamen25.pdf |title=Relations between Mexico and Malaysia, Kiribati and Nauru (in Spanish) |access-date=24 March 2020 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112212612/https://www.senado.gob.mx/comisiones/relext_ap/docs/Dictamen25.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|New Zealand}}||12 July 1979||
{{main|Kiribati–New Zealand relations}}
* Kiribati has an honorary consulate in [[Wellington]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Consulate of the Republic of Kiribati |url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/australia-and-pacific/kiribati/high-commission-for-the-republic-of-kiribati |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand)|New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Relations]] |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241104233912/https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/australia-and-pacific/kiribati/high-commission-for-the-republic-of-kiribati |archive-date=4 November 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* New Zealand has a high commission in Tarawa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/pacific/kiribati/new-zealand-high-commission/ |title=High Commission of New Zealand in Tarawa |access-date=24 March 2020 |archive-date=24 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324041927/https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/pacific/kiribati/new-zealand-high-commission/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|South Korea}}||2 May 1980||
{{main|Kiribati–South Korea relations}} 

The Republic of Kiribati and the Republic of Korea have established diplomatic relations on May 2, 1980.
*  Kiribati and South Korea have nice diplomatic relations and others things.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mofa.go.kr/eng/nation/m_4902/view.do?seq=13 |title=Search &#124; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea |access-date=11 April 2023 |archive-date=11 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411184811/https://www.mofa.go.kr/eng/nation/m_4902/view.do?seq=13 |url-status=live }}</ref> 
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|United Kingdom}}||12 July 1979||
Britain has long-standing historic links with Kiribati. The first British visitor to Kiribati was reputed to be Commodore [[John Byron]] in 1765, the immediate predecessor of [[James Cook]]'s more famous explorations of the Pacific between 1769 and 1779. With the growth of the British settlement in Australia's [[New South Wales]], whaling became a key element of the regional economy, and up to the 1870s British whalers were regular visitors to the waters surrounding Kiribati. Through its network of sovereign posts in the region ([[Fiji]], [[Solomon Islands]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]]), the UK maintains bilateral programmes with Kiribati sponsored by the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]], Department for Environment and Department for International Development and other government departments. The UK Government's engagement in Kiribati is largely delivered through the Commonwealth, the European Union and The [[Asian Development Bank]].
|- valign="top"
|{{flag|United States}}||12 August 1980||
{{Main|Kiribati–United States relations}}

Following its independence in 1979, Kiribati signed a treaty of friendship with the [[United States]].<ref name = "USStateDepartment1">{{Cite web
|author1=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
|title=Background Note: Kiribati
|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1836.htm
|access-date=6 August 2009
|date=May 2009
|work=[[United States Department of State]] website
|quote=Relations between Kiribati and the United States are excellent.
|archive-date=4 June 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604185119/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1836.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The [[United States Department of State]] characterizes U.S.–Kiribati relations as "excellent", {{As of|2009|lc=on}}.<ref name = "USStateDepartment1" /> Diplomatic relations are conducted by the [[I-Kiribati Ambassador to the United States]]. Although the U.S. does not maintain a diplomatic office or consulate in Kiribati, staff from the American embassy in [[Suva]], [[Fiji]] make frequent visits to Kiribati.<ref name = "USStateDepartment1" /> The U.S. provides economic development assistance through multilateral institutions.<ref name = "USStateDepartment1" /> From 1967 to 2008, the United States [[Peace Corps]] operated in Kiribati.<ref name = "USStateDepartment1" />
|}