Andy Burnham will do “everything possible” to hand over the Chagos Islands, the prime minister of Mauritius has said.
In a phone call on Monday with Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritian prime minister, Mr Burnham “reiterated his commitment to continue doing everything possible, together with the USA, towards the ratification of the Chagos treaty”, a readout said.
The two prime ministers also agreed to have the countries’ foreign ministers meet at the UN General Assembly, which starts on Tuesday, according to a statement from Downing Street.
“The United Kingdom recognises the need to ensure the use of the Diego Garcia military base for its security,” the readout added.
The Government’s plans to hand over sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean territory in exchange for retaining control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia were paused in April after opposition from the Trump administration.
On May 22 last year, Sir Keir Starmer’s government agreed a deal to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control, while retaining a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia military base on the archipelago.
The deal has not yet been ratified because of the concerns of Donald Trump, who changed his mind about the agreement after Sir Keir refused to let him use British military bases to bomb Iran.
Burnham will do ‘everything possible’ to hand over Chagos Islands
PM to work ‘together with the USA’ to give up territory despite Trump’s opposition, says Mauritian leader
The UK is seeking to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands while retaining a 99-year lease over the Diego Garcia military baseCredit: AFP
Andy Burnham will do “everything possible” to hand over the Chagos Islands, the prime minister of Mauritius has said.
In a phone call on Monday with Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritian prime minister, Mr Burnham “reiterated his commitment to continue doing everything possible, together with the USA, towards the ratification of the Chagos treaty”, a readout said.
The two prime ministers also agreed to have the countries’ foreign ministers meet at the UN General Assembly, which starts on Tuesday, according to a statement from Downing Street.
“The United Kingdom recognises the need to ensure the use of the Diego Garcia military base for its security,” the readout added.
The Government’s plans to hand over sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean territory in exchange for retaining control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia were paused in April after opposition from the Trump administration.
On May 22 last year, Sir Keir Starmer’s government agreed a deal to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control, while retaining a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia military base on the archipelago.
The deal has not yet been ratified because of the concerns of Donald Trump, who changed his mind about the agreement after Sir Keir refused to let him use British military bases to bomb Iran.
The Mauritian and British foreign ministers are expected to discuss the future of the Chagos Islands at the UN General AssemblyCredit: Reuters
Mr Burnham’s Government continues to support the deal, but ministers have accepted it cannot continue without the White House’s backing.
Speaking to reporters on the way to New York for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Burnham said he would work with Mauritius and the US to find a solution to retaining control over Diego Garcia.
“We remain determined to secure the long-term operation of the base, which is crucial to our security and that of our allies,” he said, in his first comments on the Chagos Islands since entering office.
He added: “The assurance I gave was I will work towards a resolution. At the moment we don’t have that, but I gave an assurance that I would commit to working towards one.”
The statement from Mauritius described the phone call as cordial, marked by a “clear desire to continue working together” to advance relations on a range of issues, including the treaty on the Chagos Archipelago.
Mr Ramgoolam thanked Mr Burnham for his support in bringing “this painful chapter for the Chagossians to a close”.
The two prime ministers agreed to remain in contact and welcomed the planned meeting between Dhananjay Ramful, the Mauritius foreign minister, and Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
Mauritius said that Mr Burnham had requested the call with Mr Ramgoolam as Port Louis had been planning to raise the issue of the Chagos deal at the General Assembly.
The issue could come up during the first meeting between Mr Burnham and Mr Trump, which is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
While Britain has already signed the treaty with Mauritius, the bill needed to enact the handover has yet to complete its passage through the British Parliament.
Sir Keir initially claimed the cost of the Chagos deal would be £3.4bn. However, The Telegraph previously revealed that the cost of the deal to give Mauritius the Chagos Islands and rent back the Diego Garcia air base on a 99-year lease was set to rise by £288m under John Healey’s Treasury reforms.
Asked on Times Radio if it was a good use of defence money, Luke Pollard, the defence procurement minister, said: “It is because it keeps our base secure, it keeps it operational and as we increase defence spending, we will need to make sure that we’re investing in the bases, the equipment and the people within defence. That’s exactly what the Government is doing.”
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