Mauritius PM expresses gratitude to Modi after UK’s decision on Chagos Islands handover
- In Reports
- 07:24 PM, Oct 05, 2024
- Myind Staff
Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth of Mauritius thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Friday for completing decolonisation. The development came a day after the UK government announced that it would transfer sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.
Jugnauth took to X to express his gratitude to Modi as he wrote, “Mauritius thanks the African Union @AfricanUnion, the Government of India @narendramodi and all friendly countries which have supported us in our fight for completing our decolonisation.”
On Thursday, the UK announced a historic deal that will keep the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia but give Mauritius sovereignty over the isolated Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) status of the contested archipelago, comprising approximately 60 islands, has been a subject of dispute for a considerable amount of time. Discussions regarding its future were initiated in 2022 during the tenure of the previous Conservative Party government.
Shortly after, following two years of negotiations, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with his Mauritius counterpart Jugnauth to express his satisfaction with the political agreement reached between the two countries regarding the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. The agreement between UK and Mauritius was announced on October 3, 2024, in a joint statement released by Prime Ministers Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom and Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius.
According to the terms of their agreement, Mauritius will receive back the atoll of Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands from the United Kingdom. With this agreement, British colonialism in Africa has come to an end.
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