Maldives president Mohamed Muizzu has asked prime minister Andy Burnham to reopen talks over the sovereignty of the disputed Chagos Islands.
In a letter, Mr Muizzu asked Mr Burnham to begin “meaningful dialogue” about the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
A spokesperson said Mr Muizzu was “deeply disappointed” that the UK did not consult the Maldives last year when former prime minister Keir Starmer agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius.
Mr Burnham reportedly wants to press ahead with his predecessor’s plan to transfer the sovereignty of the islands, which are home to the strategic US-UK Diego Garcia military base.
Sir Keir’s government signed a deal with Mauritius in May 2025 to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands and pay £35bn to lease back the base and secure its future. The government said that it had to make the deal because of an International Court of Justice ruling in favour of Mauritius’s sovereignty claim over the islands.
The cost of the Chagos deal would rise by £288m under John Healey’s Treasury reforms, The Telegraph reported.
But the agreement was not ratified after US president Donald Trump criticised it as a “big mistake” and reportedly tried to buy the archipelago from Mauritius.
The Maldives maintains that it holds the “most legitimate claim” to the islands due to historic ties between Malé and Chagos.
“I would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss this important issue and enhance relations between our two countries,” the president said in his letter.
Mr Muizzu “reaffirmed” his government’s commitment to maintaining a reliable and constructive partnership with the UK while safeguarding the legitimate interests of the country and its people.
The letter comes days before officials from the UK and the Maldives are due to meet on 18 September for the third strategic dialogue on defence, climate crisis and extremism.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the British government continued to “speak to our counterparts in the Maldives on a regular basis about a range of issues”.
“However, the question of sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago is a matter for the UK and Mauritius,” they said in a statement, “which is why the previous government launched negotiations with Mauritius on the issue in 2022 rather than with the Maldives.”
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