The Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday on the sidelines of the TICAD 7 conference.
One matter of discussion had to do with the decolonisation of the island of Diego Garcia, which is currently home to a United States military base.
The International Court of Justice, in February 2019, indicated that Britain must give up control of the island to Mauritius.
The opinion, issued in The Hague by the court’s majority, said that the decolonisation of Mauritius “was not lawfully completed” when it attained independence because Britain carved away the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and retained control of it.
In spite of this, the Prime Minister of Mauritius stated that “they are still maintaining that they have sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean territory, but they are in a very embarrassing position because they know they have been going against international law. Now there is tremendous pressure on the UK, but we don’t know what is going to be their next stand.”
On his part, President Akufo-Addo stated that “all of us are happy to see the developments in the judicial proceedings. The ruling has been made in your favour, and it has been strongly endorsed by the General Assembly”.
Nonetheless, the President’s major concern was the holding of the next session of the Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation (PJCC), which serves as the legal framework for addressing the trade and investment concerns of Ghana and Mauritius.
“It means that some of the things that could normally have been dealt with are still outstanding. So, it will be good if we could make some firm commitments as to the holding of the next session of the PJCC. It is our turn to host it, and we are ready,” he added.
Source: JHCB|3news.com|Ghana