Foreign relations of Kiribati

Kiribati is a full member of the Commonwealth, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999. Kiribati hosted the Thirty-First Pacific Islands Forum in October 2000. Kiribati has Least Developed Country Status and its interests rarely extend beyond the region. Through accession to the Lomé Convention, then Cotonou Agreement, Kiribati is also a member of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group. Kiribati maintains good relations with most countries and has particularly close ties to Pacific neighbours Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. Kiribati briefly suspended its relations with France in 1995 over that country's decision to renew nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

Kiribati established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in November 2003, but cut off all relations in September 2019 when Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Taiwan's foreign minister stated that Kiribati had "unrealistic" expectations from China and ordered the embassy to evacuate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Regional relations

Kiribati maintains strong regional ties in the Pacific. Until recently it was a full member of the Pacific Islands Forum, the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation, the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Kiribati is one of the eight signatories of the Nauru Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Management of Fisheries of Common Interest which collectively controls 25–30% of the world's tuna supply and approximately 60% of the western and central Pacific tuna supply [1]. In 1985, Kiribati was one of the nine initial endorsers of the Treaty of Rarotonga creating the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty.

Extra-regional relations

Kiribati was admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations in 1979 upon its independence, and to the United Nations in 1999.

Additionally outside the region, Kiribati is a member or participant of the ACP (Lomé Convention), the Asian Development Bank, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the IMF, International Maritime Organization, International Olympic Committee, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Universal Postal Union and the World Meteorological Organization. Finally, while Kiribati is not a member of the World Trade Organization, it does retain observer status.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Kiribati maintains diplomatic relations with:

File:Diplomatic relations of Kiribati.svg
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Bilateral relations

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Template:Flag	12 July 1979	Australia has a high commission in Tarawa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kiribati has an honorary consulate in Burradoo, New South Wales.
Template:Flag	25 June 1980, broke off 29 November 2003. Restored 27 September 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	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 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 PRC space program from 1997 until 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Guardian 1 Dec 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> On 7 November 2003, Kiribati established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although it did not sever ties with the PRC, expressing the intention to continue relations, 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>Template:Cite web</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>"Kiribati opens embassy in Taiwan" Template:Webarchive, 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>Template:Cite news</ref> Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Beijing had used "dollar diplomacy" to influence the Kiribati government.<ref>Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flag	2 September 2002<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Main 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>Pacific Magazine: Six More Cuban Physicians To Serve In KiribatiTemplate:Dead link</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">Template:Cite web</ref> As of September 2008, over twenty I-Kiribati medical students are studying in Cuba, at Cuba's expense.<ref name="pacificmagazine.net">"Kiribati's Tong Meets Castro, Heads To UN"Template:Dead link, Pacific Magazine, 18 September 2008</ref><ref name="RNZI_26617">Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2008, President Anote Tong attended the 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>"Cuba, Kiribati Cooperate in Health"Template:Dead link, Prensa Latina, 18 September 2008</ref>
Template:Flag	3 December 1982, broke off 6 September 1995, Restored 6 February 1997	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>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1995, Kiribati briefly suspended its diplomatic relations with France in protest against French nuclear tests at Mururoa in French Polynesia.<ref>"Timeline: Kiribati" Template:Webarchive, BBC, 29 April 2009</ref>
Template:Flag	28 September 2012	Georgia is accredited to Kiribati from its embassy in Canberra, Australia.
Template:Flag	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>Template:Cite web</ref> Kiribati has an honorary consul in Hamburg. Germany has no embassy in Tarawa. The German embassy in Wellington is accredited for Kiribati.
Template:Flag	6 August 1985	Template:Main Diplomatic relations between Kiribati and India were established on 6 August 1985.<ref>Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite book</ref> This was increased to US$125,000 from 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flag	13 October 2005	Kiribati does not have an accreditation to Mexico. Mexico is accredited to Kiribati from its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flag	12 July 1979	Kiribati has an honorary consulate in Wellington.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> New Zealand has a high commission in Tarawa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flag	2 May 1980	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>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flag	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.
Template:Flag	12 August 1980	Following its independence in 1979, Kiribati signed a treaty of friendship with the United States.<ref name = "USStateDepartment1">Template:Cite web</ref> The United States Department of State characterizes U.S.–Kiribati relations as "excellent", Template:As of.<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" />

Aid & Development

Kiribati receives development aid from the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, USA, the Asian Development Bank, UN agencies and (until 2019) Taiwan. In recent years it has accounted for 20–25% of Kiribati's GDP. Recent projects and notable inputs by the EU have included telecommunications (improvement of telephone exchanges and provision of radio and navigation equipment), the development of seaweed as an export crop, solar energy systems for the outer islands, the upgrading of the Control Tower and fire fighting services at Tarawa's Bonriki International Airport, outer island social development, health services and extensive support for the Kiribati Vocational Training Programme. Additionally, Cuba provides doctors, as well as scholarships for I-Kiribati medical students.<ref name="pacificmagazine.net"/>

See also

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration
• List of diplomatic missions in Kiribati
• List of diplomatic missions of Kiribati

External links

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Template:Webarchive
• Government of Kiribati Climate Change portal
• Tarawa Climate Change Conference website