The foreign minister of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, has said that India has been “very supportive” of his country in finalizing the Chagos deal. In October 2024, Mauritius and UK agreed to a deal on the Chagos Island under which Mauritius would gain sovereignty over the entire archipelago, including Diego Garcia, while the UK would retain control of the military base for an initial 99-year lease.

Speaking to WION’s Sidhant Sibal in Muscat on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference, FM Ramful said, “I have to stress that India has been very supportive to Mauritius in trying to finalise this deal, and they are still willing and committed to us restoring our sovereignty on the Chagos archipelago.”

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With the new Trump administration in Washington, things could see changes as the US has a base on Diego Garcia. The foreign minister pointed out, “We also consider that it is important that the US, the new administration especially, has a new look at the deal, since the US, as I said, has an interest in the base on Diego Garcia, so we are waiting now for the US to look at the deal, and for the UK to eventually come to us and finalise the deal.” The new Mauritian government, elected in November 2024 under Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, has pushed for better financial terms.

The foreign minister, in the interview, also appreciated India’s development projects in his country and his recent visit to the Ayodhya Temple in Uttar Pradesh.

Sidhant Sibal: How do you see India-Mauritius relationship? This is a relationship which has seen a close conversation by the two leaders
Dhananjay Ramful: As you must be aware, you know, the India-Mauritius relationship goes back several years ago, and over the years, we have strengthened the special relationship that we share. Now we have a new government in Mauritius, under the leadership of Navin Ramgoolam, and I am sure that this relationship will be strengthened further. As you know, we have, in the past, had a lot of exchanges with India, with regards to cultural exchanges, and India has also been helping us a lot with regards to our infrastructural projects. So I expect that this special relationship will continue to grow.

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Sidhant Sibal: How do you see the Indian development projects in the country?
Dhananjay Ramful: There are various projects where India has been helping us through grants or loans. You have the metro project that has been implemented over several years. There is also, we are about to inaugurate the Civil Service College, which, again, was financed by the Indian government. So in various sectors be it health, education, culture. India has been always at the forefront to try and help Mauritius, and we are very grateful for that. There are also various community based projects under what they call the community, high impact community projects, where India has been financing Mauritius on several micro projects around the island. Phase one, which is, has been implemented already, and we are expecting to have a second phase, and we will be discussing with the Indian side on the second phase of the projects.

Sidhant Sibal: What about the Indian projects in Agalega island?
Dhananjay Ramful: The Indian government has, as you know, financed the construction of a jetty and an air strip as well. This is very helpful to the inhabitants of Agalega. You know, we have a very small community in Agalega. And very recently, there has been a cyclone, where the Indian government was the first responder for help, and they sent a plane with provisions and all. And you see, the Indian government has helped us to construct that air strip, which allowed airplanes to go there.

Sidhant Sibal: So there’s a lot of cultural connection, also between India and Mauritius. Any plans to visit the Kumbh Mela in India, because several Mauritian people do visit the mela, and they do visit India as well. So if you can talk about this relationship, which is a special relationship between the two countries.
Dhananjay Ramful: On my side, I’ve been on a private visit since I got elected in December, so I’ve got a pilgrimage already to Varanasi, and I also visited the Ayodhya temple. I’m told that a few ministers, I think the Minister of Education will be attending the Kumbh Mela.

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Sidhant Sibal: Any plans for the visit of the leadership, the new leadership, to India, and will they come to the Ayodhya temple if they travel to India? 
Dhananjay Ramful: I have personally visited the Ayodhya temple. I am told various ministers under the current government, who have been there on holiday and they visited Ayodhya, it is a great initiative by the PM Modi Ji and also Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Sidhant Sibal: Recently, we saw a pact being concluded by the previous government of Mauritius with the UK on Chagos, and it was seen as a landmark in terms of perhaps resolving many issues. What is your government’s view on that? And what do you think? Do you fear that with the Trump administration in the US, there could be pressure from Washington to make sure that there is a revisit for the entire pact.
Dhananjay Ramful: You see, the issue of Chagos has been a very long battle by Mauritius and also the Chagossians community to restore the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago, including the main island, which is Diego Garcia. You will remember that we’ve even gone to the UN where we were supported by a large majority of member states. And we even went to the International Court of Justice, where we got a ruling in our favour. And following that, there have been numerous rounds of negotiations with the UK Government to try and finalise a deal. We do realise the importance of the base, but also the UK and the US, must realise that, you know, we are in 2025 and we cannot continue to encroach on the territory of a friendly country. It’s high time to resolve the matter. It’s good that the UK Government has come to the table and tried to agree on a deal. The deal has been agreed between the two of us, Mauritius and the UK. Now we also consider that it is important that the US, the new administration especially, has a new look at the deal, since the US, as I said, has an interest in the base on Diego Garcia.

Sidhant Sibal: And how do you see India’s position on Chagos? India has always backed Mauritius.
Dhananjay Ramful: I have to stress that India has been very supportive to Mauritius in trying to finalise this deal, and they are still willing and committed to us, restoring our sovereignty on the Chagos archipelago.