Foreign relations of Tuvalu
In terms of physical land size, Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City—0.44 km2; Monaco—1.95 km2 and Nauru—21 km2.
Since its independence in 1978, Tuvalu had been a special member,[2] but without having any voting rights in the organisation that brings together 54 countries that are mostly former colonies of the United Kingdom.
[6] Tuvalu notably played an active role in the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, attracting media and public attention with a proposed protocol which would have imposed deeper, legally binding emission cuts, including on developing nations.
[8] Tuvalu participates in the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries (EIF), which was established in October 1997 under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation.
Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said that this deferral was necessary to maintain access by Tuvalu to the funds provided by the United Nations's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), as "Once Tuvalu graduates to a developed country, it will not be considered for funding assistance for climate change adaptation programmes like NAPA, which only goes to LDCs".
The feasibility of wind power generation will be considered as part of the commitment to increase the use of renewable energy in Tuvalu.
In July 2013 Tuvalu signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the Pacific Regional Trade and Development Facility, which Facility originated in 2006, in the context of negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Pacific ACP States and the European Union.
The rationale for the creation of the Facility being to improve the delivery of aid to Pacific island countries in support of the Aid-for-Trade (AfT) requirements.
[25] On 31 May 2017 the first enhanced High Level Political Dialogue between Tuvalu and the European Union under the Cotonou Agreement was held in Funafuti.
[26] Tuvalu is also a member of the following organisations:[27] ACP, ADB, AOSIS, Commonwealth of Nations, FAO, IBRD (also known as the World Bank), ICAO, IDA, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, World Meteorological Organization.
[87] In September 2008, Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia attended the first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting in Havana.
The meeting aimed at "strengthening cooperation" between Cuba and Pacific Island countries, notably in coping with the effects of climate change – an issue of critical importance to Tuvalu.
[93] In March 2014 the European Union provided finance to the Government of Tuvalu for the supply and installation of battery-backed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for the outer islands.
He described Tuvalu is being a valued partner in the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) and spoke of Fiji and Tuvalu as having a joint interest in working within the Pacific Small Island Developing States forum to push the rest of the world to take decisive action on climate change.
[96] In October 2014 the prime ministers of Fiji and Tuvalu signed the Fiji-Tuvalu Maritime Boundary Treaty, which establishes the extent of the national areas of jurisdiction between Fiji and Tuvalu as recognized in international law under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Tuvalu's Foreign Minister said that his country supports Georgia's territorial integrity in its international recognized borders.
[102][103] Taukelina Finikaso is also reported as saying that re-establishing diplomatic relations with Georgia was an important step towards strengthening ties with the European Union, which he described as a traditional friend of Tuvalu.
At the invitation of Federal Chancellor Merkel, Tuvalu's then Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia travelled to Berlin and Potsdam in late 2009 in the run-up to the Copenhagen Conference.
In November 2017 Tuvalu's current Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga led a delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23) in Bonn, where he also hosted a workshop.
[106] Diplomatic relations between the two countries received a boost when the High Commission of India in Suva, Fiji which had been closed in May 1990, was re-opened in March 1999.
[107] Bilateral relations intensified after the initiation of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) by the Narendra Modi government in 2014.
[108] A Tuvaluan delegation led by Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli attended the first FIPIC Summit hosted in Suva, Fiji on 19 November 2014 by Prime Minister Modi.
Japan is a significant aid provider in the form of grants and technical cooperation,[112] including donating the 50-meter vessel, the Manu Folau.
[116] On 29 August 2012 an 'Agreement between Tuvalu and Kiribati concerning their Maritime Boundary', was signed by their respective leaders that determined the boundary as being seaward of Nanumea and Niutao in Tuvalu on the one hand and Tabiteuea, Tamana and Arorae in Kiribati on the other hand, along the geodesics connecting the points of latitude and longitude set out in the agreement.
[124][125][126] New Zealand has an annual quota of 75 Tuvaluans granted work permits under the Pacific Access Category, as announced in 2001.
[130] On 3 March 2019, NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga signed the New Zealand-Tuvalu Statement of Partnership, which committed the governments of New Zealand and Tuvalu to work together on climate change, workforce development and regional security.
In turn, the ROC maintains the only resident embassy in Tuvalu and has a large assistance program in the islands with "several mobile medical missions".
This change, however, proved to be short-lived, since Latasi's successor (Bikenibeu Paeniu) re-introduced the original design of 9-star flag that included the Union Jack.
As a result of a motion in the parliament, a constitutional review was undertaken to determine if Tuvalu should become a republic or remain a monarchy.
[155] In September 2017, at the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, the Prime Ministers of Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands once again raised human rights abuses in Indonesian-occupied West Papua.
