Mauritius PM Home to Chagos and Water Crisis

Mauritius: Politics

Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam was due home on Saturday 14 November 2026 after trips to Antigua and Paris, Le Mauricien, a Mauritian daily, reported before his return. He returns to a water shortage and a stalled deal on the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago where the island of Diego Garcia hosts a joint US-UK military base.

The trip covered the Commonwealth summit of 56 independent countries in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, on 1 to 4 November, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the group’s administrative body, says, and the Paris Peace Forum, an annual conference on global governance, on 10 and 11 November. French water funding now depends on a vote by the board of France’s development bank.

Ramgoolam comes home with French talks on water, a British year-end target on Chagos and a youth dialogue only just begun.

What Happened

In Paris, Ramgoolam met French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, the French presidential seat, on Wednesday 11 November, a day later than first planned, Le Mauricien reported. They discussed the G20 group of major economies, the summit of French-speaking nations that Ramgoolam will not attend, and security cooperation.

France will provide training and technical support for Mauritian police and firefighters, according to Le Mauricien. The talks also covered maritime drones, but no purchase has been announced, the paper said.

On the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit, Ramgoolam met UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. A readout from Downing Street, the UK prime minister’s office, reported by the British radio station LBC on 5 November, said: “They agreed to work on a shared plan to make further progress by the end of the year.”

The UK signed a treaty in May 2025 to cede the British Indian Ocean Territory, meaning the Chagos Islands, to Mauritius while the base keeps operating, LBC reported. The deal has stalled since, and our earlier report on the year-end plan covers its status.

Why It Matters

Water is where the trip meets daily life at home, and the numbers are tight. Ramgoolam discussed French funding for water security with Christophe Lecourtier, director general of the Agence française de développement (AFD, France’s development bank), on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum.

Reservoirs were about 57% full in early October against 87% a year earlier, and the Mare-aux-Vacoas dam, one of the island’s reservoirs, stood at 35.9%, according to IRIS, a French think tank, in an analysis by Harmony Delhalle, a doctoral student in geography, published on 11 November. In August the Central Water Authority (CWA), the national water authority, cut supply by two hours a day and banned car washing and pool filling, IRIS said.

Some areas received water only every other day, IRIS reported, so households in those areas carry the cost of the shortage. Prem Saddul, a former CWA chairman, estimates that 60 to 62% of treated drinking water is lost to leaks, illegal connections and faulty meters, as IRIS cited him on 11 November.

IRIS also recorded October riots, a nightly curfew from 13 to 19 October over about a third of the island and 195 arrests.ION News, a Mauritian news site, reported on 14 November that consultations on youth concerns and aspirations, launched after the unrest, began on 29 October with a first meeting with NGOs.

They will continue with institutions, civil society and representatives of the “forces vives”, the active forces of society. For readers in the United States, the Chagos question matters because Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands, hosts a joint US-UK military base, LBC reported.

Burnham, quoted by LBC, said he is “committed to finding a solution that secures the base” and suggested the US-Denmark Greenland deal could be a model for revising the arrangement, LBC reported on 5 November. The counter-view comes from US President Donald Trump, who called the treaty a “terrible deal” in September, according to LBC on 5 November.

LBC also reported that the UK government said it could not proceed without US support and that work on the implementing legislation was paused in April.

What Is Not Known

The AFD and the Mauritian government have not confirmed a funding amount for the French water support, and the exact date of the AFD board meeting is not confirmed. Le Mauricien said that the board meets “next week”, meaning the week of 16 November.

The content of the shared Chagos plan has not been disclosed, and it is unclear whether the United States will approve it. The names and dates of the next national dialogue sessions have also not been given.

What to Watch Next

Ramgoolam will brief members of the National Assembly, Mauritius’s parliament, on Chagos developments on “Tuesday”, ION News said on 14 November, giving the weekday only. By calendar, that is Tuesday 17 November.

The AFD board is expected to consider the water funding in the week of 16 November, date not confirmed, according to Le Mauricien. Approval would move the funding forward, while a delay would leave households with the restrictions IRIS described.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Ramgoolam back in Mauritius?

He was due home on Saturday 14 November 2026, Le Mauricien reported before his return. ION News said on 14 November that his return was already effective.

What was agreed on the Chagos Islands?

A readout from Downing Street, the UK prime minister’s office, reported by LBC on 5 November, said Ramgoolam and Burnham agreed to work on a shared plan to make further progress by the end of the year. The content of the plan has not been published.

How bad is the water shortage in Mauritius?

IRIS, a French think tank, said on 11 November that reservoirs were about 57% full in early October against 87% a year earlier. In August the Central Water Authority cut supply by two hours a day.

Has France agreed to fund Mauritius water projects?

Ramgoolam discussed French funding with the AFD, on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum. No amount is confirmed, and approval rests with the AFD board.

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