New Mauritian PM sends fresh proposals to UK
Mauritius says it has submitted changes to a proposed future agreement on the Chagos archipelago, with its new prime minister saying the original agreement did not bring enough benefits to Mauritius.
According to the terms of the original agreementIt was announced in October that Britain would relinquish sovereignty over the archipelago but retain its 99-year lease on Diego Garcia, which is home to a major British and American military air base.
It was finalized shortly before the elections, when then Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth disastrous defeat.
His successor Navin Ramgoolam has since said he has reservations about the deal, which has also drawn criticism from Britain’s opposition Conservatives and officials in the incoming Trump administration.
When the deal was first made public after years of negotiations, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Jugnauth called it “a significant moment in our relationship, demonstrating our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law”.
The British government said it also “protects the long-term safe operation of (military) bases”.
However, shortly after taking office last month, Ramgoolam asks legal experts to review deal terms.
Speaking in the Mauritian Parliament on Tuesday, Ramgoolam said the Mauritian government had submitted a counter-proposal aimed at ensuring that the final deal was in the national interest.
“During the discussions, Mauritius made it clear that while it remains willing to reach an agreement with the UK, in our view the draft agreement presented to us after the election will not produce the benefits that the UK hopes for. The country can look forward to such an agreement,” La Mgoolam told MPs.
He did not specify what the counterproposal was or the precise nature of the objection.
Ramgoolam confirmed that the UK’s response to the proposals had been received on Monday and was currently under review.
A delegation of senior British officials, led by Harriet Matthews, Director General for Africa, Americas and Overseas Territories at the Foreign Office, visited Mauritius last week.
On December 11, she met Ramgoolam, accompanied by British High Commissioner Charlotte Pierre, to further advance negotiations.
Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “We continue to believe that the agreement is in the interests of both parties and will continue to work with the new Mauritian government to complete the agreement. We have always said that we will engage with the new government to complete the agreement,” adding , there is no specific timetable for the transaction.
The only hint of possible problems on the Mauritian side were comments made last month by the Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Fisheries, Arvin Burrell.
He criticized the former prime minister for granting Britain a long-term lease on Diego Garcia – which he said was for 200 years, although the published term was originally 99 years.
“In other words,” Burrell told one newspaper, “the tenants have been owners of Diego Garcia for 200 years.”
Britain has faced growing diplomatic isolation in recent years over its claims to the so-called British Indian Ocean territory, with United Nations bodies – including its Supreme Court and General Assembly – overwhelmingly siding with Mauritius in calling for Britain to hand over alleged It is “Africa’s last colony”.
The Mauritian government has long argued that it was illegally forced to give up the Chagos Islands in exchange for independence from Britain in 1968.
At that time, the British government had reached a secret agreement with the United States and agreed to lease Diego Garcia, the largest atoll, as a military base.
Britain later apologized for forcibly evicting more than 1,000 islanders from across the archipelago and pledged to hand the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for strategic purposes.
Until recently, Britain insisted that Mauritius itself had no legitimate claim to the islands.
