British Indian Ocean Territory

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 6 July 2021.

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Photo of Daniel Kawczynski Daniel Kawczynski Conservative, Shrewsbury and Atcham

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the High Commissioner for Mauritius on the statements made by the Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth in October 2020 that the British are hypocrites and champions of double talk in respect of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Photo of James Duddridge James Duddridge Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has repeatedly made it clear to the Government of Mauritius that the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the territory of BIOT, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the territory and we do not recognise its claim. However, we have a long-standing commitment, first made in 1965, to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment. We are disappointed with the comments made by Prime Minister Jugnauth in October 2020 in relation to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

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