Foreign relations of Kiribati

Kiribati's Relations with the International Community

Kiribati is a full member of The Commonwealth, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the UN 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 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, and New Zealand. Kiribati established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in December 2003. Kiribati briefly suspended its relations with France in 1995 over that country's decision to renew nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

Diplomatic Missions

Kiribati has only one permanent mission abroad, the High Commission in Suva, Fiji. It has honorary consulates in London, Auckland, Sydney, Honolulu, Tokyo and Hamburg. In Kiribati, there are High Commissions from Australia and New Zealand and an embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The People's Republic of China maintains a Representative Office.

Relations with The United States

Kiribati signed a treaty of friendship with the United States in 1979. The U.S. has no consular or diplomatic facilities in the country. Officers of the American Embassy in Suva, Republic of the Fiji Islands, are concurrently accredited to Kiribati and make periodic visits. In lieu of ambassadors in-country, leaders from the U.S. Peace Corps often stand in as representatives. The Peace Corps Kiribati program is highly active throughout the Gilbert islands, with its headquarters located in Bikenibeu, Tarawa.

Relations with China

On November 7, 2003, Kiribati established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan. Although it did not sever ties with the People's Republic of China, expressing the intention to continue relations, Beijing suspended ties on November 29 after failed attempts to lobby President Anote Tong to change his mind. With relations first established with the PRC in 1980, Kiribati had been the home to a satellite tracking base for China's space program from 1997 until 2003, a week before ties were formally severed. [http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/2003/11/08/1068256362.htm]

Relations with The United Kingdom

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 1769-1779. 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.

Relations with Cuba

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 [ [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 ] ] . 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% [http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=33793 Cuban doctors reduce Kiribati infant mortality rate by 80 percent ] ] As of September 2008, over twenty I-Kiribati medical students are studying in Cuba, at Cuba's expense. [ [http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/09/18/kiribatis-tong-meets-castro-heads-to-un "Kiribati's Tong Meets Castro, Heads To UN"] , "Pacific Magazine", September 18, 2008] [ [http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=26617 Kiribati discusses medical training with Cuba ] ] .

In September 2008, President Anote Tong attended the first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting in Havana. By meeting President Raul Castro to discuss "mutual friendship and cooperation", he became the first Pacific leader to pay a state visit to Cuba. [ [http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/09/18/kiribatis-tong-meets-castro-heads-to-un "Kiribati's Tong Meets Castro, Heads To UN"] , "Pacific Magazine", September 18, 2008] The two countries signed an agreement on increased cooperation in the field of health. [ [http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BD0E83D1D-EC73-4198-987B-72977C5E4DC7%7D)&language=EN "Cuba, Kiribati Cooperate in Health"] , Prensa Latina, September 18, 2008]

Aid & Development

Kiribati receives development aid from the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, USA, the Asian Development Bank, UN agencies and 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. [ [http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/09/18/kiribatis-tong-meets-castro-heads-to-un "Kiribati's Tong Meets Castro, Heads To UN"] , "Pacific Magazine", September 18, 2008]

References