LONDON (AP) — A British court said Thursday that the U.K. can transfer sovereignty over the contested and strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius, overturning a block that was imposed hours before the agreement was due to be signed.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he has signed an agreement handing over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius

The UK on Thursday signed an agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back the Diego Garcia military base, critical to the UK and the US, for an average of 101 million pounds