Great Britain has announced that it is relinquishing sovereignty over a group of remote but strategically important islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.
The agreement, which was reached after many years of negotiations, implies that Britain will hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Among them is the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, which the US government uses as a military base for its navy and bombers.
In this way, the decades-long, often difficult negotiations between the two countries will be ended.
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The US-British base will remain on the island of Diego Garcia, which was key to reaching a deal at a time of growing rivalry between Western powers, India and China in the region.
The deal still needs to be formalized in the form of an agreement, but both sides have promised that it will be completed as soon as possible.
"This is a key moment in our relations and an indication of our continued commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law," said the Prime Ministers of Great Britain and Mauritius, Keir Starmer and Pravind Jugnot, in a joint statement.
The leaders also stated that they are committed to the "long-term, safe and effective operations of the existing base on Diego Garcia Island, which plays a key role in regional and global security."
Under the agreement, the UK will provide financial assistance to Mauritius including annual payments and investment in infrastructure.
Mauritius will be able to start a program to repopulate the Chagos Archipelago, but not on the island of Diego Garcia.
On this island, Great Britain will ensure the functioning of the military base for an "initial period" of 99 years.
US President Joe Biden hailed the "historic agreement", saying it shows that "through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial solutions".
Frenki Bontemps, who is a second-generation immigrant from the Chagos Islands in Great Britain, said that he feels "betrayed" and "angry" because the residents of the Chagos Islands "were never included" in the negotiations.
"We are still powerless and have no voice in decisions about our future and the future of our homeland," he told the BBC.
In recent years, Great Britain has had less and less support for its claim to this group of islands.
Several United Nations bodies have sided with Mauritius, asking Britain to hand over what some have called "the last colony in Africa".
The Mauritian government insisted that it was forced to give up the Chagos Islands in exchange for its own independence from Great Britain in 1968.
At that point the British government had already reached a secret agreement with America to allow the largest atoll of Diego Garcia to be used as a military base.
Britain later apologized for forcibly expelling more than 1.000 islanders and promised to hand over the territory to Mauritius when it was no longer strategically important.
The negotiations, which led to Thursday's agreement, were started by the previous government.
The moment in which the agreement was reached is also a consequence of current international relations.
Great Britain wants to remove the Chagos Islands as an obstacle to gaining more global support, especially from Africa, at a time when it is possible that Donald Trump will become the president of America again.
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