New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) India is going to start talks with Niue, a South Pacific island which is the only sovereign country in the world to have no diplomatic ties with New Delhi.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the Lok Sabha in a written reply Wednesday: ‘Both countries have expressed willingness to establish diplomatic relations.’
‘The next step will be to hold discussions on this matter at an early date,’ he added.
Nieu, located in the South Pacific Ocean, is the world’s smallest self-governing island nation.
Known as the ‘Rock of Polynesia’, it is home to barely 2,000 islanders. It operates in free association with New Zealand which is obliged under the island’s constitution to provide ‘necessary economic and administrative assistance’.
The technology-savvy country became the world’s first ‘WiFi nation’ in 2003 when it offered free wireless internet service to all residents.
