PM presses Mauritius on need for Chagos Islands deal to protect UK-US military base

The premier curate has pressed Mauritius connected the request for the Chagos Islands woody to let "strong protections" for the UK-US subject basal there.

Sir Keir Starmer spoke to his Mauritian counterpart connected Friday afternoon, Downing Street said.

During their conversation, the Labour person told Navin Ramgoolam helium wanted "strong protections" for the UK-US subject basal connected Diego Garcia arsenic talks to hand them implicit to Mauritius continue.

This marked the archetypal clip the 2 leaders person spoken straight since they some came to power.

It came aft Mr Ramgoolam antecedently ordered an autarkic review of his predecessor's provisional woody with the UK, soon aft coming to power.

Giving a readout of the call, a Downing Street spokesperson said: "The premier curate spoke to the premier curate of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam this afternoon.

"The leaders began by reflecting connected their archetypal months successful bureau and discussed the beardown narration betwixt the UK and Mauritius, which they looked guardant to expanding.

"The premier curate underlined the request for a woody to unafraid the subject basal connected Diego Garcia that ensures beardown protections, including from malign influence, and that volition let the basal to proceed to operate.

"Both leaders reiterated their committedness to a deal, and they looked guardant to speaking again soon."

Since 2022, erstwhile the Conservatives were successful power, the UK has been negotiating a woody with Mauritius to manus implicit power of the Chagos archipelago.

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The caller authorities has continued the talks with the purpose of retaining power of the subject base.

The UK plans to lease backmost the strategically important basal for 99 years astatine a reported yearly outgo of astir £90m.