The UK faces paying more to Mauritius under a renegotiated deal over the future of the Chagos Islands, the prime minister of the African island nation has suggested. Last October, the UK announced it would hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius,

Mauritius welcomes the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump examining a deal reached by Britain and Mauritius over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, which house a U.S.-British military base, the island nation's prime minister said Tuesday.

Officials in Mauritius are optimistic that the Chagos Islands deal will be signed soon after a reportedly “cordial” call last week between the country’s prime minister and Sir Keir Starmer.

Sir Keir Starmer has told the Mauritian leader that the deal to give away the Chagos Islands must not aid China’s “malign influence”. The Prime Minister also urged Mauritius to ensure the deal allows “strong protections” for the key Western military base on Diego Garcia during the conversation with his counterpart, Navin Ramgoolam, on Friday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart Navin Ramgoolam on Friday spoke directly for the first time about the Chagos Islands deal, Starmer's office said.

The UK government said it wouldn’t provide any details on a proposed multibillion-pound deal to continue operating a military base in the Chagos archipelago once it cedes control of the islands until it’s finalized,

Mauritius's prime minister said Tuesday that his country had reached a newly renegotiated deal with Britain over control of the strategic Chagos Islands, but was awaiting US President Donald Trump's opinion.

Navin Ramgoolam said Donald Trump was ‘not a wolf’ and it was better to let him review the prospective deal between the UK and Mauritius.