Vietnam establishes diplomatic relations with Cook Islands

Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung (right) on behalf of the Government of Vietnam and High Commissioner for the Cook Islands in New Zealand Elizabeth Wright-Koteka on behalf of the Cook Islands Government signed a joint statement – Photo: BNG

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, the signing ceremony of the Joint Communiqué establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Cook Islands took place on April 26 in Hanoi.New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington.

The two sides agreed to officially establish diplomatic relations between the two countries at the ambassadorial level from the date of signing the Joint Communiqué and applying the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations in the relations between the two countries.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands, Vietnam has had diplomatic relations with 190 countries around the world.

After the signing ceremony, Ambassador Nguyen Van Trung had an exchange with High Commissioner Elizabeth Wright-Koteka about activities to enhance mutual understanding and develop solidarity and friendship between the two peoples.

Regarding bilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in fields of strength such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and exchange experiences on response to climate change and COVID-19 prevention. .

Regarding multilateralism, the two sides agreed to coordinate actions at Asia-Pacific forums, as well as in specialized United Nations organizations.

Cook Islands is an archipelagic country, located in the south Pacific Ocean, with a population of 20,200 (in 2019), with a total land area of ​​236.7 square kilometers, including 15 main islands, stretching over 2,200 square miles. 2 million square kilometers of sea surface.

This is a country that possesses abundant marine and ocean resources, in which fisheries and jade mining are very developed.

Tourism is the leading industry in this archipelago nation (accounting for over 65% of GDP).

The Cook Islands are a constitutional monarchy, the head of state is the Queen of England, represented by the Governor-General of the Cook Islands. This country gained self-rule on August 4, 1965 and was recognized as independent by the United Nations in 1992. Cook Islands has an independent and open foreign policy.

Vietnam is the 57th country in the world and the 6th country in ASEAN with which it has official diplomatic relations.