UK to open negotiations over future of Chagos Islands

The UK has agreed to unfastened negotiations with Mauritius implicit the aboriginal of the Chagos Islands, a British territory successful the Indian Ocean since 1814.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said helium wanted to "resolve each outstanding issues" implicit the archipelago.

The effectual cognition of the associated UK-US subject basal connected Diego Garcia would beryllium guaranteed, helium added.

Chagossians person campaigned to instrumentality since much than 1,000 radical were forced to permission successful the 1960s and 1970s.

Diego Garcia is the largest of the 60 tiny islands of the Chagos archipelago. After the subject basal was established successful 1966, the island's inhabitants were expelled.

Mauritius, which won independency from the UK successful 1968, maintains the islands are its ain and Chagossians person fought for their instrumentality successful the British courts.

The United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice successful The Hague, has ruled that the UK's medication of the territory is "unlawful" and indispensable end.

But until present the UK has resisted planetary unit to statesman talks astir the islands.

In a written ministerial statement, Mr Cleverly announced: "The UK and Mauritius person agreed to prosecute successful constructive negotiations, with a presumption to arriving astatine an statement by aboriginal adjacent year.

"Taking into relationship applicable ineligible proceedings, it is our volition to unafraid an statement connected the ground of planetary instrumentality to resoluteness each outstanding issues, including those relating to the erstwhile inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago."

The overseas caput confirmed the negotiations would see "the workout of sovereignty".

The determination follows talks betwixt Liz Truss, during her abbreviated clip arsenic premier minister, and Mauritian person Pravind Jugnauth astatine the United Nations General Assembly successful New York successful September.