Relationship dossier
Guinea-Bissau
Senegal
Relationship assessment
A cooperative neighboring relationship shaped by security cooperation, the Casamance conflict and past military intervention
Guinea-Bissau toward Senegal
+15Guinea-Bissau has cooperated with Senegal on security matters, while the Casamance conflict has at times strained relations, including concerns about insurgent activity across the border.
Senegal toward Guinea-Bissau
+10Senegal has engaged in security cooperation with Guinea-Bissau and helped mediate its political crises. During Guinea-Bissau’s 1998–1999 civil war, Senegal deployed troops in support of President João Bernardo Vieira, a major intervention that also involved armed confrontation.
Overall relationship
+15The settled maritime boundary and recurring security engagement provide a basis for cooperation. That relationship has also been affected by the Casamance conflict and Senegal’s intervention in Guinea-Bissau’s 1998–1999 civil war, leaving a mixed but generally cooperative bilateral structure.
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
Guinea-Bissau and Senegal have a settled maritime boundary and a history of security cooperation, alongside recurring tensions linked to the Casamance conflict and Senegal’s military intervention in Guinea-Bissau during the 1998–1999 civil war. These competing features point to a generally cooperative but periodically strained relationship.
Areas of tension
- Casamance insurgent activity and security concerns along the shared border
- Senegal’s military intervention in Guinea-Bissau during the 1998–1999 civil war
Key developments
The two countries’ maritime boundary was established through an agreement and later upheld by the International Court of Justice.
Senegal deployed troops in support of President Vieira during Guinea-Bissau’s 1998–1999 civil war.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current bilateral security cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of Guinea-Bissau’s cooperation with Senegal concerning Casamance insurgent activity is unclear.