A historic deal for the United Kingdom to hand over control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been put into question after the African island country’s new prime minister issued “counterproposals”.
The British government still plans to hand over control of the chain of 60-some islands to Mauritius under the condition that a strategic joint UK-US military base on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, would remain under British control for at least 99 years.
Mauritius’s Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who took office last month, said on Tuesday that he was reopening negotiations because the current deal “would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect from such an agreement”.
Ramgoolam told lawmakers in Mauritius’s parliament that his government “is still willing to conclude an agreement with the United Kingdom” and had submitted counterproposals.
Britain’s minister for UK overseas territories, Stephen Doughty, said on Wednesday that he was confident the deal would be finalised and that it is “completely understandable” for the new Mauritian government to seek time to review the details.
