Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcome has been of recent discussions with the US administration on renewal of the military base in the British Indian Ocean Territory; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan

​The Government welcomes the US presence on Diego Garcia and as such, we continue to discuss with the US Government their continued use of Diego Garcia. US presence on the island of Diego Garcia is governed by a series of agreements, called Exchanges of Notes, of which the overarching agreement sets out that the whole Territory should be made available for UK and US defence purposes for an initial 50 year period of 1966 to 2016. If neither side object during a two year window of December 2014 to December 2016, the agreement will continue as it stands until end December 2036. An announcement on the outcome of discussions will be made to Parliament and the public in due course.