New Mauritius PM expresses reservations about UK’s Chagos deal
The new prime minister of Mauritius has said he has reservations about the deal struck by his predecessor with the UK government last month over the Chagos Islands.
Under the deal, the UK would give up sovereignty over the remote but strategically important archipelago – while leasing Diego Garcia, home to a joint UK-US military base, for at least 99 years.
PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam, elected two weeks ago, did not outline his precise issues with the agreement, but a cabinet minister said there were problems with the lease arrangement.
It could also face opposition from US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
The UK Foreign Office said the deal was “in both sides’ shared interests”.
A spokesperson said this included “ensuring the long-term effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia”.
They added that the accord had been welcomed by the US and India, and that the Foreign Office looked forward to working with the new Mauritian government to finalise the deal in a treaty.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, has described the deal as a threat to US security.
When the deal was signed, after years of talks, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his then-Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth called it a “seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law”.
UK opposition leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of not knowing “how to defend our national interests” in its handling of the negotiations.
Some groups representing the interests of Chagossians have also expressed disquiet, saying they were excluded from the negotiations.
—BBC
