4 Oct 2017

Cooks to be first Pacific country with 'developed' status

From , 6:03 am on 4 October 2017

The Cook Islands is about to become a developed nation.

The OECD is to officially declare the Cook Islands a developed nation at the end of next year, ending its status as a developing nation.

It is a first among the Pacific island countries and it will pose challenges for the Cooks.

Finance Minister Mark Brown says he expects it to affect at least some of the foreign aid the Cooks gets and the country will need to learn how to do business in different ways.

He spoke with Don Wiseman who began by asking how the OECD reached its decision.

Cook Islands Finance Minister Mark Brown

Cook Islands finance minister Mark Brown Photo: Cook Islands News