Mauritian Prime Minister Rejects Blinken's Call to Sign Deal With UK on Chagos - Reports
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam to sign the deal with the United Kingdom on the status of the Chagos archipelago, which was agreed by the previous Mauritian government, but he was refused, a news portal reported, citing sources. | Ramgoolam made it clear that he did not agree with the original agreement reached in October and told Blinken that he had sent a counter-offer to London, the report said on Tuesday. The report noted that Ramgoolam thus confirmed his desire to achieve a better deal for Mauritius. [...] Mauritius and the Chagos Islands had been colonial possessions of the British Crown since 1845. In 1968, Mauritius gained independence, but the islands remained a British overseas territory. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Chagos population was deported to the Seychelles and Mauritius. In 1966, the UK leased the largest island, Diego Garcia, to the United States for 50 years. The lease was extended for 20 years in 2016.