India Reaffirms Support For Mauritius In Chagos Talks Ahead Of PM Modi’s Visit

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Mauritius, India on Saturday (8 March) reaffirmed its support for the island nation in negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement with the UK regarding the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

This matter is likely to come up during PM Modi’s discussions with Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, news agency PTI reported.

Modi will visit Mauritius for two days on 11 and 12 March.

During a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri indicated that Mauritius and the UK have perhaps arrived at a mutually acceptable deal in Chagos.

In a landmark decision last October, the UK had announced that it will transfer the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after more than half a century under a historic agreement.

The agreement, finalised under former Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth, stipulated that while the UK would cede sovereignty over Chagos, it would maintain a 99-year lease over the UK-US military airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia.

However, the new Mauritius government led by Ramgoolam sought to renegotiate the terms of the deal, calling for fresh discussions with the UK regarding Chagos.

"We have supported Mauritius in its stance on its sovereignty over Chagos. And this is obviously in keeping with our longstanding position with regard to decolonization and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of our other countries. And its only fitting for us to articulate this support for partners such as Mauritius,” Misri said at the briefing.

Misri also mentioned that the new government in Mauritius has taken a relook at some of the provisions over the deal on Chagos.

“Nevertheless, it is something that is continued to be discussed between Mauritius and the UK and we understand that they have engaged with each other quite intensively and have also perhaps arrived at a mutually acceptable deal about the subject,” he said.

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