Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2025 to Question 24737 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Mauritius, what estimate he has made of the number of rounds of negotiations there will be between the UK and Mauritius Governments on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory before the Government brings forward a Bill to make the necessary amendments to current legislation to implement a UK/Mauritius Treaty on this matter.

As we and Mauritius have repeatedly said, including in joint statements on 20 December 2024 and on 13 January, both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago. Once the Treaty is signed it will be laid before both Houses for scrutiny under the CRaG process and a Bill will be brought forward to make the necessary amendments to current legislation to implement the Treaty.