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The UK and Mauritius vowed Friday to reach a historic treaty as soon as possible to hand control of the strategic Indian Ocean Chagos Islands to the Mauritians.
The two sides have held “a series of productive, ongoing conversations and exchanges” to finalise the deal “as quickly as possible”, a joint statement said.
They were committed to agreeing a treaty to “ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia”, it added.
The statement seemed to be seeking to allay concerns after the new prime minister of Mauritius said Tuesday he had some doubts about the treaty.
While Mauritius “is still willing to conclude an agreement with the United Kingdom, the draft agreement which was shown to us… would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect from such an agreement”, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said.
After decades of negotiations, Britain agreed in October to hand over the remote island chain to Mauritius, a former colony, on condition that a UK-US military base can remain on the largest island, Diego Garcia.
But MP Nigel Farage has warned that there is “very deep disquiet” in the incoming team of US president Donald Trump over the base’s fate.
October’s agreement came after nearly two years of negotiations and marked a significant turnaround after decades of British dismissals of Mauritian sovereignty claims.
The two countries said in October that the final treaty would guarantee the continuation of the military base on Diego Garcia “well into the next century”.
Britain decided in 1965 to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius and set up the military base, which it leased to the United States.
In doing so, it evicted thousands of Chagos islanders who have since mounted a series of legal claims for compensation in the British courts.
The military base has played a key strategic role as a hub for long-range bombers and ships, notably used during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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