The US President approves the UK-Mauritius agreement on the Chagos Islands.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain is working with the Mauritian government to finalize an agreement on the Chagos Islands following discussions with the United States.

Fuel storage tanks on the military runway area on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago. (Photo: Reuters)

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in London, on April 1, the British Prime Minister's Office announced that US President Donald Trump had officially approved the proposed agreement between the UK and Mauritius regarding the future of the Chagos Islands.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain is working with the Mauritian government to finalize the agreement following discussions with the US.

Under the agreement, Britain would cede sovereignty over the archipelago to Mauritius in exchange for a lease of Diego Garcia, the largest coral atoll in the Indian Ocean, for an initial period of 99 years, with a 40-year extension option.

The British government has given the US administration veto power over the draft agreement, due to security implications for the joint British-American military base at Diego Garcia.

President Donald Trump signaled his support for the deal during a meeting with Starmer in the Oval Office in February.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said the agreement would proceed without further approval from Washington. Downing Street has not given a timeline for finalizing and ratifying the agreement between London and Port Louis.

Britain first launched formal negotiations with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, also known as a British Indian Ocean Overseas Territory, in 2022 after years of disagreement over the archipelago.

In 1965, Britain decided to separate the Chagos Islands from its colony of Mauritius, establishing a military base there and leasing it to the United States. After gaining independence in 1968, Mauritius claimed sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

In recent years, there have been growing calls for Britain to return the Chagos Islands – one of its last remaining overseas territories.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice recommended that the UK return the islands. That same year, the United Nations General Assembly also voted to call for the UK's withdrawal from the area.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tong-thong-my-chap-thuan-thoa-thuan-anh-mauritius-ve-quan-dao-chagos-post1024206.vnp