The Cook Islands government says it has appointed an acting high commissioner to New Zealand - a year after the post in Wellington became vacant.
The foreign secretary, Edwin Pittman, says a former employee of the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, Sonia Kamena, will be the commission's first secretary from next week.
But he says it is still not clear when a high commissioner will be appointed a post which he says is difficult to fill.
"it was difficult to identify someone. People in the ministry were fairly tied up so to speak.... various people we had lined up already had commitments."
Edwin Pittman
