UK and Mauritius agree to pursue shared plan on Diego Garcia base

The Prime Minister and his Mauritian counterpart, Navin Ramgoolam, have agreed to work on a shared plan to make further progress on arrangements for the Diego Garcia base by the end of the year.

They met yesterday during the retreat at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua. The Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to working with Mauritius and the United States on a way forward that would secure the base’s operation and protect the national security of all three countries.

During the retreat, the Prime Minister also met India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. He emphasised his commitment to the close friendship between the UK and India, and both reiterated their wish to end the bloodshed in Ukraine.

Before the retreat, the Prime Minister spoke to the World Bank president, Ajay Banga. Their discussion covered his proposed reset on debt and his focus on making sustainable finance accessible to small and developing nations, through both the Commonwealth and the UK’s G20 presidency.

The Prime Minister returned to the United Kingdom this morning.