New Zealand Government funding is being returned to the Cook Islands, as Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown put pen to paper on an agreement, more than a year after the contentious China deal.
The agreement was signed following a diplomatic row involving China that caused New Zealand to pull funding from the realm country.
A declaration was formally signed in Rarotonga today by Peters and Brown.
It attempts to clarify the relationship the two Governments have and the obligations that need to be met.
The partnership also includes defence and security details that are seen as off-limits for the Cook Islands, in its co-operation with China and other nations.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said it was “vital” that New Zealand and the Cook Islands are clear with one another and third parties about the nature of their relationship.
Peters has been on Brown’s home turf for relationship-mending discussions, as memories of the Cook Islands’ deal with China loom in the shadows and scars start to heal.
In remarks during the signing ceremony, Peters said recent disagreements between the two nations had “caused unnecessary anxiety” and the declaration aimed to ensure a “restored confidence and renewed focus” for both Governments.
“Now that we have achieved clarity about the nature of our relationship, the Cook Islands-New Zealand partnership will return swiftly to previous good health,” Peters said.
“We’ve signed it at a moment in history that is becoming harder. The global environment we face today is more complex and challenging than at any point since 1965.
“Given the scale of the challenges we face, it’s only right that New Zealand and the Cook Islands face them together.”
Brown said discussions around the countries’ longstanding relationship were no small feat.
As a self-governing state, he affirmed the Cook Islands would “continue to build relationships across our region and beyond, as every state does” and that the declaration renewed a partnership “grounded in mutual respect and and an awareness of shared interests”.
“A Cook Islands that is deeply connected, well-resourced and confident, confident in its place amongst nations, is a stronger and more capable partner for New Zealand,” Brown said.
“We will continue to build partnerships wherever they serve our national interest, in full transparency with our partners and with our values as our guide.”
Peters alluded to significant disagreements in a statement when announcing the signing of the agreement. “It’s no secret that our two Governments have had a series of serious disagreements since late 2024.”
“As we debated how to get past these disagreements, it became clear that one of their root causes was the lack of a shared understanding about the requirements of our special constitutional relationship – especially as it pertained to defence and security matters and the extent of the consultation required between us,” Peters said.
The minister added the declaration removed “this former ambiguity” and provided clarity to both Governments so they could move forward.
Peters’ surprise visit was confirmed via a statement which was released to the media late in the afternoon, the day before the plane left Wellington.
The relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands suffered significantly after the country, which is in free association with New Zealand, signed a deal with China without significant consultation.
Questioned whether the Cook Islands-China deals would be affected by the new agreement, Brown told reporters the declaration focused on “security and defence” across the Pacific, and he was confident the provisions “will address any concerns that may have occurred in the past and will certainly address any concerns moving forward”.
Peters confirmed areas in which the agreement covered included energy security, transnational crime, and a commitment to greater police and military assistance.
The Cook Islands is a self-governing realm country. Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens and hold Kiwi passports, and New Zealand has committed to assist the Islands with defence and foreign affairs issues.
The Foreign Minister’s trip marks the first visit from a New Zealand Cabinet minister to the Cook Islands since an agreement with China came to fruition in February 2025.
Brown met Peters at the airport, with the pair shaking hands on the tarmac and smiling, as a fresh lei of flowers was placed around the Foreign Affairs Minister.
Peters, alongside officials and journalists, were treated to cultural dancing and drumming performances at the Rarotonga airport.
Peters’ visit to the Cook Islands comes after Brown spoke to Peters at his private residence in Auckland on March 20, joined by diplomatic officials.
After that meeting, the pair released a joint statement saying the two delegations discussed “fundamental challenges facing the New Zealand-Cook Islands relationship over the past 18 months and possible ways forward”.
“Political dialogue between the two countries will continue in the coming weeks in order to determine whether these challenges can be resolved in the present circumstances,” the joint statement read.
Both stated that in the meantime, the Governments of New Zealand and the Cook Islands would not be providing further comment.
Further details on the formal agreements between China and the Cook Islands were released by the Office of the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands on February 21, 2025.
An action plan for a comprehensive strategic partnership was signed, looking from 2025 to 2030, confirming “bilateral collaboration” across “economic development, infrastructure, climate resilience and cultural exchanges”.
The deal included infrastructure co-operation – including, controversially, on deep-sea mining.
Peters has been vocally critical of communication, or lack thereof, about the China deal.
After it was signed, Peters said the agreements and a “lack of consultation with New Zealand about them” had signalled a “gap in understanding” between the Governments of the Cook Islands and New Zealand, about what its free association relationship required.
In early June 2025, funding grants to the free association country were put on “pause” – with an extension put on the withholding of funds in November. The total amount of funding the Cook Islands missed out on had neared $30 million.
Peters last visited the Cook Islands in February 2024, joined by Pacific Peoples Minister Shane Reti.
At the time, Peters said New Zealand enjoyed “close political, economic, and people-to-people ties” with Pacific partners, particularly Polynesia.
“Given New Zealand’s place and influence in the region, our visit will also reinforce our commitment to collectively responding to the many – and varied – strategic issues and challenges facing both the Pacific, and the wider Indo-Pacific.”
Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.