UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.
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00:00The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically
00:04important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.
00:09The deal, reached after years of negotiations, will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands
00:15to Mauritius in a historic move. This includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US
00:22government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft. The announcement,
00:28made in a joint statement by the UK and Mauritian prime ministers,
00:32ends decades of often fractious negotiations between the two countries.
00:37The US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia – a key factor enabling the deal to go forward at a
00:43time of growing geopolitical rivalries in the region between Western countries, India and China.
00:49The deal is still subject to finalisation of a treaty, but both sides have promised
00:54to complete it as quickly as possible. This is a seminal moment in our relationship and
01:00a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of
01:04law," the statement from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind
01:10Jugnath read.