LONDON: The UK has reached an agreement with Mauritius to give sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to the East African nation and secure a strategically important UK-US military base, the Foreign Office announced Thursday.
After years of negotiations, the UK agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic move that included securing the strategically important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
“For the first time in more than 50 years, the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure, following a political agreement between the UK and Mauritius,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
It said that the agreement is strongly supported by international partners, including the US, which has joint operation of the strategic military base.