Relations between Switzerland and Honduras are good. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will be present in the country until the end of 2024, and has carried out a range of projects there.
Bilateral relations Switzerland–Honduras
Key aspects of diplomatic relations
Switzerland and Honduras have signed agreements in areas including technical cooperation and the promotion and protection of investments.
Swiss diplomatic interests in Honduras are represented by the Swiss embassy in Guatemala. Consular affairs are handled by the Swiss embassy in San José, Costa Rica.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will have a liaison office in Tegucigalpa until 2024.
Economic cooperation
Trade between Switzerland and Honduras is limited in scope. In the 1990s, Switzerland took part in multilateral debt relief programmes for Honduras. In 2023, it imported nearly CHF 51.2 million worth of goods, almost all of which were forestry and agricultural products. In the same year, Swiss exports to Honduras totalled CHF 23.2 million. Switzerland mainly exports chemical and pharmaceutical products, machinery, appliances, electronics and agricultural products.
Cooperation in education, research and innovation
Researchers and artists who are citizens of Honduras can apply to the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships.
Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars and Artists, SERI
Development cooperation and humanitarian aid
Between 1978 and 2024, Honduras was one of the priority countries for Swiss development cooperation. In 2021, the SDC's budget for the country amounted to CHF 14 million.
The SDC also assisted the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), an initiative led by the Organization of American States (OAS). This mission ended at the start of 2020.
In line with the cooperation strategy for 2022-24, the SDC has pursued its activities in the fields of governance and the rule of law, employment and inclusive economic development, climate change management, disaster risk reduction and natural resources.
Although Switzerland's bilateral cooperation in Latin America, and therefore with Honduras, will cease at the end of 2024, humanitarian aid and the promotion of human rights, prosperity and sustainability will remain Switzerland's priorities in the region beyond that date.
Swiss nationals in Honduras
According to the statistics on the Swiss abroad, 216 Swiss citizens were living in Honduras at the end of 2023.
History of bilateral relations
Switzerland immediately recognised Honduras when it became a republic in 1839. It opened a consulate there in 1936, and the two countries have maintained diplomatic relations since 1957. Switzerland represented Honduran interests in Germany and Hungary during the Second World War, and in Cuba from 1962 to 1985.
The SDC has been present in Honduras since 1978, and opened a coordination office in Tegucigalpa in 1981. In 1993 the main regional office was transferred to Managua, and the Tegucigalpa office became a liaison and programme office.
