Mauritius’ newly elected government pushing for a fresh look at a deal aimed at restoring the island nation’s sovereignty over the territory. Mauritius’ Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful said the government seeks a conclusive deal that will be in the best interests of all stakeholders, including India and the US. The Chagos dispute dates back to the 1960s when the UK separated the archipelago from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with his Mauritian counterpart Navin Ramgoolam on March 12 in Port Louis. Last month, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for a deal between Mauritius and the UK regarding the future of a US-UK base in the Chagos Archipelago, a chain of seven atolls made up of over 60 islands in the Indian Ocean. The deal in question is initially being negotiated just before Mauritius’ general elections in November 2024, but with a new government now in power, Ramful noted that the administration is keen to reassess the terms.