Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK’s right to extend the 99-year lease on the Chagos Islands was renegotiated with the government of Mauritius in the period between his Oral Statement of 7 October 2024 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations, Official Report, column 45, and the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25391 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases.

As we and Mauritius have repeatedly said, including in joint statements on 20 December and on 13 January, both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago which protects the long-term effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia. The Treaty will last for an initial 99 years and may be extended for a further 40 years (and beyond) by agreement between the UK and Mauritius - after 99 years, the UK will also have the right to first refusal on the use of Diego Garcia which, if exercised, would prevent the use of the base by any other party. We continue to engage with Mauritius and are not going to provide a running commentary on the details.