Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 57196 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether changes were made to the (a) indexation measure for payments, (b) currency payments to be made and (c) the lease extension clause in the period between his oral statement of 7 October 2024 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations, Official Report, column 46, and the signing of the UK/Mauritius agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, published on 22 May 2025.

There has been no change to the terms of extension in the treaty. The treaty will last for 99 years and can be extended, securing the base well into the next century. As referenced in the UK/Mauritius joint statement on 3 October regarding the political agreement, indexation was always a part of the agreement. Between October and May, a shift to sterling values was agreed. At this point, we also strengthened provisions in the Treaty which secure the base and that will stop hostile actors or competitor states from establishing outposts in neighbouring islands. There was no increase to the overall quantum of the Agreement.