Mauritius hints talks stuck over money

The Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius said that negotiations with the UK on the future of the Chagos Islands are progressing over the financial implications.

Under the original agreement, which was announced in October, the UK will relinquish sovereignty to Mauritius over the islands but will retain a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia, home to a major UK-US military base.

As part of the deal, the UK said it would provide financial support to Mauritius, including annual stipends and working capital, but neither side said how much it was involved.

However, the new government in Mauritius, elected since the agreement was first made, has said it wants to see some changes.

The proposed deal has also attracted criticism in the UK, with the opposition Conservative Party calling it a “colossal technical failure”.

When the agreement was first announced after years of negotiations, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth called it “a critical moment in our relationship and demonstrates our commitment to resolving conflicts peacefully and without limitations. The rule of law”.

It sought to end decades of uncertainty and controversy over the status of the islands.

In a joint statement released on Friday, the UK and Mauritius said they were committed to “concluding the agreement as soon as possible” which includes “the safe and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia and that Mauritius is sovereign over these islands.”.

They also said that “ongoing discussions” were beneficial.

The new government of Mauritius, which was elected successfully last month, has not publicly mentioned its problems with the agreement.

But speaking to his constituents on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Paul Bérenger spoke of the costs involved.

“This base was on our land, in our region… but not only [about] our authority. There are certain things that you cannot accept if you are a patriot. “They’re trying to get us to sign and they’re just holding back a bit,” he said.

Speaking in parliament last week about the talks, Bérenger admitted that Mauritius needed “money to get out of the financial crisis that the previous government took us, but not at any price, not under any conditions”.

Speaking to MPs on Friday, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said the UK was keen to complete the deal “before it happens. [Donald] Trump was sworn in as President on January 20”.

Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, has called the deal a threat to US security.

Last week in the UK Parliament, Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel accused the Labor government of putting the UK’s national security at risk, ignoring the interests of Chagossia, and “allowing our stand to be eroded” in a very dangerous country.

“How much will British taxpayers have to spend every year, and for 99 years?” he asked.

Foreign Secretary Stephen Doughty insisted the deal would enhance, not undermine, UK security, saying it would safeguard the role of the armed forces and ensure it “continues to thrive for years to come”.

In recent years, the UK has come under fire for secession over what it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory, with various United Nations bodies – including its high court and general assembly – increasingly siding with Mauritius in demanding that the UK hand over what some have called “its last colony to Africa”.

The government of Mauritius has maintained that it was forced to cede the Chagos Islands to the United Kingdom in 1968.

Until recently, the UK insisted that Mauritius also had no claim to the islands.