● What is your post-mortem for your four years spent in Mauritius?

It?s been a good experience. At a personal level, it?s been enriching. I?ve lived what neither I nor my family would have known unless we came to Mauritius. I take away a warm feeling of having achieved a few things.

● In your opinion, what are the main obstacles facing Mauritius?

I suppose they?re on the economic front. It is difficult for a small island state like Mauritius in a world where global economy tends to favour bigger nations.

● Mauritius enjoys a ?special relationship? with the United Kingdom. What can be done to enhance this?

Well, I?d rather you ask me the question, ?What has been done to enhance this?? A special relationship isn?t just a relationship between governments, it?s based on an interaction between people. It catches contacts and connections, especially at a professional level. It?s about our common examination system, our common professional qualification system. The High Commission essentially offers opportunity to enhance those connections through meetings, entertaining, receptions. The other day, I set up a Bristol alumni association as I attended Bristol University. 45 Mauritian graduates came. A diplomat is a catalyst. On a government to government level, one has a range of issues.

● Such as?

Police training. Or helping the Independent Commission against Corruption. The commissioner went to Britain on three occasions for conferences. We worked also for the marine environment in Rodrigues through Shoals. On the historical front, there was the first ever Anglo-French naval visit. Then the Baudin-Flinders bicentenary, with 39 functions and events and a magnificent monument to Flinders in Baie-du-Cap. Celebrating the centenary of the Entente Cordiale in Mauritius was very appropriate. I?ve also been very involved with prison reform.

● What is the feeling at 10, Downing Street, on demands for compensation and the right of return to the Chagos?

The official line is that Chagossians have already been compensated. I can?t say whether it will remain. We are facing a judicial review so we?re not going to comment before the end of the legal process. Concerning the right of return, a feasibility study has been conducted by a well-known scientist from Warwick University. He concluded it would not be possible to have any long-term settlement on the islands.

● The US settlement on Diego Garcia is rather long-term though?

Of course, it is. They have a huge base with all the infrastructure. There?s no infrastructure on the outer islands. The British government will not saddle its taxpayers from now to eternity with the vast cost of making the islands inhabitable.

● £5 million per year isn?t that much for Great Britain?

I think the figure is £50 million. Including building a harbour, schools, roads and an airport. The £5 million quoted by one of our ministers is for upkeep costs. Think about the costs to the British taxpayer. And ask yourself whether Chagossians really want to go back there.

● There are Chagossians who think that they should be allowed to go home?

My feeling is that the overwhelming majority of the Chagossians don?t actually want to go back to live in the Chagos. Most of them are settled in Mauritius. 150 of them arrived in Britain in the last 18 months. Many want to go and visit the archipelago. This will happen.

● It will?

We were prepared to do it years ago. The problem was that they wanted to go to Diego Garcia and the Americans said that they couldn?t. Olivier Bancoult and his people replied ?We won?t go?. We?d actually hired a ship to take them to the outer islands.

Are the Americans categorical?

No. It wouldn?t surprise me if the Americans agreed to a short visit to Diego. It would have to be controlled. Personally, I think the Americans will come round to it.

● Which issue preoccupies the British government the most here: Mauritian claim of sovereignty or Chagossian demands for compensation and the right of return?

We don?t really give priority to any particular aspect. The islands will be ceded to Mauritius when no longer needed. There?s no question of transferring the base to Mauritius in the foreseeable future. I do not rule out the possibility of transferring the outer islands to Mauritius in the foreseeable future.

● What is Britain?s approach to the end of the Sugar Protocol for Mauritius?

We take a very sympathetic stance to island states confronted with economic difficulties. We work with our EU partners and our international connections to find bridging mechanisms for Mauritius so that, when the Protocol is lifted, the country will be able to maintain its economy. Compensation is one of the issues.

● Is Mauritius a safe destination?

By and large it?s a safe destination but one cannot exclude a terrorist attack anywhere.

● The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recently issued a damning report on Mauritian prisons. The new commissioner of prisons, Bill Duff, has much to do, doesn?t he?

Yes. I think he?ll tackle visiting hours and improve the way in which visitors see the prisoners. What is needed is a modern approach. People are put in prison to be rehabilitated. There are also three ways to reduce overcrowding there: not sending people on remand to prison, have appropriate length of sentences, and sending foreign prisoners to their home prisons. Then you reduce social problems.

● In its ambition to become an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub, Mauritius is banking quite heavily on its bilingualism. Is this likely to interest British companies?

Yes, some British companies have already gotten involved. There?s a lot of invisible trade between the two countries, especially in consultancy and services offered in the offshore sector. For example, Portia Management is doing a review of the security in the harbour. Barclays, HSBC, Shell, Courts, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Accenture are some other British companies doing business here. These are all companies with some ICT involvement.

The fact that Mauritius is bilingual is immensely important in selling the country as a cyberisland. I would like to add a caveat though. English is declining badly here and it?s partly the fault of the media who have taken a policy decision on English. Young people learn to read and write English but their oral ability is declining. I?m sad to say that I?ve spoken more French here than English. It gives the impression of a country rather stuck in a narrow historical and literary base.

● With the privatization of British tertiary education, it?s becoming increasingly hard to choose where to study as the universities market themselves so aggressively. How does one make the choice?

I suppose most people choose by word of mouth, the level of the fees, whether they are offered partial scholarships, universities traditionally attended by Mauritians and where they have family as it eliminates boarding costs.