The UK Foreign Office is in negotiations with Armenia, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, and Botswana about establishing deportation agreements similar to the controversial one with Rwanda, aimed at handling asylum seekers, according to a report by The Times.
Leaked documents from the Foreign Office reveal that the UK government has initiated talks to replicate the Rwanda asylum seeker deportation scheme with these countries.
The Times highlighted that these documents detail British efforts over the last 18 months to identify nations willing to adopt a similar strategy.
The documents also suggested that while the UK has shown less interest in such agreements with Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia, discussions with Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia, and Gambia have been outright rejected by those nations.
Should negotiations with the primary four countries fail, the UK has prepared a backup list of potential partners including Cape Verde, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Angola, and Sierra Leone.
The report also notes challenges in the negotiations due to ongoing issues with the Rwandan agreement.
However, London remains hopeful of advancing these talks following the operational start of the Rwandan scheme.
Earlier, The Guardian reported that the British Senate had voted on legislation regarding the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda while their applications are processed, with its adoption being postponed.
Despite serious disputes among members, the House of Commons had previously passed the bill in its final reading in January.
