LONDON — The United Kingdom’s government is still working to finalize a controversial deal on the handover of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, after the new Mauritian prime minister demanded a renegotiation.
Britain’s deal with Mauritius has come under intense scrutiny since it was announced in October — amid indications that key figures in United States President-elect Donald Trump’s team are opposed to the handover of islands that have long housed a joint U.K.-U.S. airbase, Diego Garcia.
While agreeing a lease for the airbase, the U.K. and its new Labour government agreed to pass sovereignty of the disputed Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius last month in an agreement hailed as a “seminal moment” in London.
But the deal over the islands — sometimes dubbed Britain’s last African colony — has been complicated by a fresh election in Mauritius. Pravind Jugnauth — the prime minister who agreed the deal — lost in a landslide defeat.
His successor, Navin Ramgoolam, said Tuesday that his government is concerned with the deal agreed — and said he had submitted counterproposals to the U.K.
“During the discussions, Mauritius made clear that while it is still willing to conclude an agreement with the United Kingdom, the draft agreement which was shown to us after the general elections is one which, in our view, would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect from such an agreement,” Ramgoolam told lawmakers.
‘Not dead’
It’s prompted fresh questions to the British government. Speaking in the House of Commons Wednesday, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty insisted London still has faith in the deal.
“It’s now completely understandable that the new Mauritian government will want time to study the details,” Doughty said. “However, I am confident that we have agreed a good and fair deal that is in both sides’ interests.”
A British government official, granted anonymity to discuss the agreement frankly, said the “deal is not dead.”
Britain has agreed to pay Mauritius over a 99-year lease period for the use of Diego Garcia. The same official argued it is natural for a country under new leadership to ask for changes — but stressed that “there’s no more money” on the table.
However, such a stance would not preclude potential front-loading of the payments.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, an ally of Trump, claimed Wednesday that he had spoken to “several members of the incoming administration” in the U.S. who feel “very deep disquiet as to what this may mean for the long-term future of [the] Diego Garcia [military base] and whether such a deal would hold.”
“I am confident that he would have his concerns allayed when he sees the detail of the deal,” Doughty replied.
Dan Bloom and Sam Blewett contributed reporting.
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