US President Donald Trump has indicated he would be prepared to back Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The agreement includes a plan to lease back the strategically important US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers' expense.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was inclined to back a deal between Britain and Mauritius over the future of a U.S.-UK military base in the Chagos Islands, in a boost for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

New Delhi has far more influence on Mauritius than may be noticed in Europe. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, then prime minister of Mauritius, at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, Apr. 25, 2022.