Prime Minister Mark Brown welcomed His Excellency Aren B. Palik, Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), to Rarotonga this weekend for his first visit to the Cook Islands. The bilateral meeting was held in the lead-up to the Cook Islands’ 60th anniversary of self-governance. The meeting reaffirmed the warm and enduring ties…
Prime Minister Mark Brown today welcomed the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the Honourable Feleti Teo O.B.E, to Rarotonga as part of official engagements marking the Cook Islands’ 60th anniversary of self-government. Prime Minister Brown expressed deep appreciation for Tuvalu’s presence, and for the support shown in provision of passenger vessel Nivaga III, which played a…
Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum Troika met earlier today in Rarotonga to review key regional developments and continue advancing collective Forum priorities. Convened in the margins of the Cook Islands’ 60th Constitution celebrations, the Troika meeting brought together the Prime Minister of Tonga and current Chair of the Forum, the Honourable ’Aisake Valu Eke;…
Media Release – Issued jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). Today, Prime Minister Mark Brown welcomed the Prime Minister of Tonga and current Pacific Islands Forum Chair, Hon. Dr. Aisake Eke, to Rarotonga to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Cook Islands self-governance. As…
This is the forth editorial in a series of opinion pieces covering the Cook Islands development journey. Written by Secretary for Cultural Development, Emile Kairua The journey of the Cook Islands from 1965 to 2025 is not only a tale of political evolution and economic development, but also equally a profound story of cultural resilience,…
The Government of the Cook Islands will welcome island leaders from across the Pa Enua to Rarotonga next week for the Pa Enua Governance Forum 2025, a national gathering dedicated to strengthening collaboration between the Pa Enua and Central Government. The Forum, hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister – Pa Enua Governance Unit,…
Last week, on Thursday 10 July 2025, senior officials from the Cook Islands met with New Zealand counterparts in Auckland, New Zealand, to discuss the bilateral relationship through the Joint Ministerial Forum Working Group (JMF-WG) mechanism. The JMF-WG is an annual meeting between the two countries and provides a platform for officials to engage on…
This is the third in a series of opinion pieces covering the Cook Islands development journey. Written by Dr Alex Frame LL.D (VUW) Dr Alex Frame grew up in 1950s Tahiti where his father was a flying boat pilot in the days before landplanes, attending the old Arue School and Collège Paul Gauguin in Papeete.…
The Office of the Prime Minister is pleased to announce the conclusion of Exercise Itiki’anga, a national emergency preparedness simulation that brought together government agencies, first responders, private sector, NGOs, and community representatives to test the country’s disaster coordination systems. Running throughout this week, the exercise has played a critical role in strengthening national readiness,…
This is the second in a series of opinion pieces covering the Cook Islands development journey. Written by Financial Secretary, Garth Henderson. As we mark 60 years of self-governance, we also mark a critical economic shift, from transition to transformation. Transition was our response to crisis. When COVID-19 brought global tourism to a halt, the…