# Foreign relations of Kiribati

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
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.

## 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 . 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:
Date :
| 1 | Australia | 12 July 1979 |
| 2 | Canada | 12 July 1979 |
| 3 | Fiji | 12 July 1979 |
| 4 | Solomon Islands | 12 July 1979 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 12 July 1979 |
| 6 | Japan | 21 March 1980 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 29 April 1980 |
| 8 | South Korea | 2 May 1980 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 6 June 1980 |
| 10 | China | 25 June 1980 |
| 11 | Germany | 1 July 1980 |
| 12 | Vanuatu | 30 July 1980 |
| 13 | United States | 12 August 1980 |
| 14 | Chile | 20 January 1981 |
| 15 | Malaysia | 15 March 1982 |
| 16 | France | 13 October 1982 |
| 17 | Peru | 29 October 1983 |
| 18 | Portugal | 15 November 1983 |
| 19 | Tuvalu | March 1984 |
| 20 | Israel | 21 May 1984 |
| 21 | Greece | 1984 |
| 22 | India | 7 August 1985 |
| 23 | Papua New Guinea | Before 1986 |
| 24 | Marshall Islands | 4 June 1988 |
| 25 | Federated States of Micronesia | 9 December 1988 |
| 26 | Maldives | 20 March 1989 |
| 27 | Singapore | 7 September 1989 |
| 28 | Russia | 5 September 1990 |
| 29 | Bangladesh | Before 1995 |
| 30 | Nauru | Before 1995 |
| — | Holy See | 10 April 1995 |
| 31 | Palau | 12 July 1995 |
| 32 | Italy | 7 December 1995 |
| 33 | South Africa | 30 August 1999 |
| 34 | Philippines | 25 March 2000 |
| 35 | Ireland | September 2000 |
| 36 | Morocco | 21 March 2001 |
| 37 | Cuba | 2 September 2002 |
| 38 | Switzerland | 1 June 2004 |
| 39 | Austria | 2004 |
| 40 | Thailand | 29 June 2005 |
| 41 | Iceland | 15 September 2005 |
| 42 | Mexico | 13 October 2005 |
| 43 | Argentina | 21 September 2006 |
| 44 | Czech Republic | 27 June 2007 |
| 45 | Turkey | 20 June 2008 |
| 46 | Brazil | 21 September 2010 |
| 47 | Egypt | 25 September 2010 |
| 48 | Finland | 25 March 2011 |
| 49 | Spain | 24 September 2011 |
| 50 | Gambia | 27 September 2012 |
| 51 | Georgia | 28 September 2012 |
| 52 | Sweden | 28 September 2012 |
| 53 | Indonesia | 8 May 2013 |
| — | Cook Islands | 3 September 2013 |
| 54 | Lithuania | 15 January 2014 |
| 55 | Mongolia | 15 January 2014 |
| 56 | Montenegro | 17 January 2014 |
| 57 | Kazakhstan | 18 February 2014 |
| 58 | Kuwait | 4 March 2014 |
| 59 | Monaco | 20 June 2014 |
| 60 | Estonia | 4 September 2014 |
| 61 | Vietnam | 15 September 2014 |
| 62 | Poland | 2 March 2015 |
| 63 | Latvia | 10 April 2015 |
| 64 | Brunei | 26 January 2016 |
| 65 | Qatar | 28 March 2016 |
| 66 | Hungary | 17 June 2016 |
| 67 | Croatia | 26 August 2016 |
| 68 | Seychelles | 27 February 2017 |
| 69 | Jordan | 8 August 2017 |
| 70 | Dominica | 22 January 2018 |
| 71 | Romania | 9 July 2018 |
| 72 | Bahrain | 25 September 2018 |
| 73 | Saint Lucia | 25 September 2018 |
| 74 | Armenia | 26 September 2018 |
| 75 | United Arab Emirates | 13 January 2019 |
| 76 | Tajikistan | 5 April 2019 |
| 77 | Norway | 17 August 2019 |
| 78 | Kyrgyzstan | 26 September 2019 |
| 79 | Nicaragua | 17 May 2021 |
| 80 | Andorra | 27 May 2021 |
| 81 | Pakistan | 3 June 2021 |
| 82 | Slovenia | 8 June 2021 |
| 83 | San Marino | 20 August 2021 |
| 84 | Paraguay | 20 October 2021 |
| 85 | Algeria | 29 October 2021 |
| 86 | Jamaica | 26 April 2022 |
| 87 | Malta | 21 September 2022 |
| 88 | Saudi Arabia | 18 December 2023 |
| 89 | Panama | 30 January 2024 |
| 90 | Oman | 2 July 2024 |
| 91 | Bulgaria | 17 July 2024 |
| 92 | Nepal | 17 July 2024 |
| 93 | Dominican Republic | 18 July 2024 |
| 94 | Moldova | 11 September 2024 |
| 95 | Guatemala | 4 October 2024 |
| 96 | Belgium | Unknown |
| 97 | Samoa | Unknown |
| 98 | Tonga | Unknown |

## Bilateral relations

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Australia | 12 July 1979 | Australia has a high commission in Tarawa. Kiribati has an honorary consulate in Burradoo, New South Wales. |
| China | 25 June 1980, broke off 29 November 2003. Restored 27 September 2019. | Main article: China–Kiribati relations 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. On 7 November 2003, Kiribati established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC). 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. On 9 January 2004, the ROC opened its embassy in Kiribati. 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. On 20 September 2019, Kiribati switched diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China, effectively cutting all relations to Taiwan. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Beijing had used "dollar diplomacy" to influence the Kiribati government. 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. |
| Cuba | 2 September 2002 | Main article: 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. 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% As of September 2008, over twenty I-Kiribati medical students are studying in Cuba, at Cuba's expense. 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. The two countries signed an agreement on increased cooperation in the field of health. |
| France | 3 December 1982, broke off 6 September 1995, Restored 6 February 1997 | Main article: 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. In 1995, Kiribati briefly suspended its diplomatic relations with France in protest against French nuclear tests at Mururoa in French Polynesia. |
| Georgia | 28 September 2012 | Main article: Georgia–Kiribati relations Georgia is accredited to Kiribati from its embassy in Canberra, Australia. |
| 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. Kiribati has an honorary consul in Hamburg. Germany has no embassy in Tarawa. The German embassy in Wellington is accredited for Kiribati. |
| India | 6 August 1985 | Main article: India–Kiribati relations Diplomatic relations between Kiribati and India were established on 6 August 1985. 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. This was increased to US$125,000 from 2009. |
| Mexico | 13 October 2005 | Kiribati does not have an accreditation to Mexico. Mexico is accredited to Kiribati from its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. |
| New Zealand | 12 July 1979 | Main article: Kiribati–New Zealand relations Kiribati has an honorary consulate in Wellington. New Zealand has a high commission in Tarawa. |
| South Korea | 2 May 1980 | Main article: 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. |
| 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. |
| United States | 12 August 1980 | Main article: Kiribati–United States relations Following its independence in 1979, Kiribati signed a treaty of friendship with the United States. The United States Department of State characterizes U.S.–Kiribati relations as "excellent", as of 2009. 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. The U.S. provides economic development assistance through multilateral institutions. From 1967 to 2008, the United States Peace Corps operated in Kiribati. |

## 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.