Relationship dossier
Guatemala
Sweden
Relationship assessment
Development cooperation alongside a past diplomatic dispute over CICIG
Guatemala toward Sweden
-10In 2007, Guatemala sought the removal of Sweden's ambassador amid a dispute related to CICIG, creating a concrete episode of diplomatic friction. The breadth of Guatemala's other direct government cooperation with Sweden is unclear.
Sweden toward Guatemala
+35Sweden has provided development cooperation in Guatemala, including support related to democracy, human rights and peacebuilding. This has been a substantive feature of Sweden's government engagement with Guatemala.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship has included sustained Swedish development engagement in Guatemala, alongside a notable diplomatic dispute in 2007 when Guatemala sought the removal of Sweden's ambassador in connection with CICIG. These features point to a generally cooperative but not friction-free bilateral relationship.
How 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
Sweden has maintained a development-cooperation relationship with Guatemala, including support for democracy, human rights and peace-related work. Relations have also experienced friction: Guatemala sought the removal of Swedish and German ambassadors in 2007 amid disputes connected to the UN-backed anti-impunity commission, CICIG. The extent of subsequent direct cooperation by Guatemala is less clear.
Areas of tension
- Guatemala's 2007 effort to remove Sweden's ambassador amid disputes related to CICIG.
Key developments
Guatemala sought the removal of the Swedish and German ambassadors amid a dispute related to CICIG.
Sweden provided development cooperation in Guatemala, including support for democracy, human rights and peacebuilding.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral development-cooperation arrangements over time are unclear.
- The extent of Guatemala's direct government cooperation with Sweden beyond the 2007 diplomatic dispute is unclear.