Original sentence: At a 1965 London conference prior to the independence of Mauritius.In 1966, Great Britain and the United States executed an "exchange of notes" making the island of Diego Garcia available for the defence needs of both countries for the next 50 years.Mauritian Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam agreed to sell the Chagos to Britain for the price of £3 million (1967 rate).This sale the Chagos and a handful of other Indian Ocean islands (including tortoise-rich Aldabra and neighbouring Agalega) led to the creation of a new British overseas territory — the British Indian Ocean Territory
Edited sentence: In 1966, with the ownership of the Chagos secured, Great Britain and the United States executed an "exchange of notes" making the island of Diego Garcia available for the defence needs of both countries for the next 50 years.Mauritian Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was persuaded to sell the Chagos to Britain for the price of £3 million (1967 rate).Ramgoolam was later awarded a knighthood in the 1965 New Year Honours, and it is speculated that this may have been a form of reward for the sale.The problem of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago was circumvented at a 1965 London conference prior to the independence of Mauritius.Through the sale the Chagos and a handful of other Indian Ocean islands (including tortoise-rich Aldabra and neighbouring Agalega) became a new British overseas territory — the British Indian Ocean Territory