Relationship dossier
British Indian Ocean Territory
Guyana
Relationship assessment
Guyana supported Mauritius’s claim to the Chagos Archipelago; the territory is administered by the United Kingdom.
British Indian Ocean Territory toward Guyana
Not assessedThe British Indian Ocean Territory is administered by the United Kingdom and does not conduct an independent foreign policy.
Guyana toward British Indian Ocean Territory
-15Guyana supported the 2019 UN General Assembly resolution calling for the United Kingdom to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago and for the archipelago to be returned to Mauritius.
Overall relationship
Not assessedHow to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The British Indian Ocean Territory is a British-administered dependent territory, not a sovereign state with an independent foreign policy. Guyana supported the UN General Assembly resolution calling for the United Kingdom to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago and for the archipelago to be returned to Mauritius. This reflects a position on the territory’s sovereignty, rather than evidence of broader direct Guyana–territory cooperation.
Areas of tension
- The sovereignty and administration of the Chagos Archipelago, including the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Key developments
Guyana voted in favor of UN General Assembly resolution 73/295, calling for the United Kingdom to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago and for the archipelago to be returned to Mauritius.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of any direct contact or cooperation between Guyanese and British Indian Ocean Territory authorities is unclear.
- The practical implications of Guyana’s position on Chagos for any direct bilateral dealings are unclear.