WELLINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) – New Zealand and the Cook Islands signed a Defence and Security Declaration in Rarotonga on Thursday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said.
Peters said in a statement that the declaration outlines a set of important political commitments the Cook Islands and New Zealand have made to one another that provide clarity on key aspects of our special constitutional relationship.
The declaration comes after the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries had deteriorated amid the island group’s deepening ties with China and a proposal to create a separate Cook Islands’ passport.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer)
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