India has postponed the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit, scheduled for May 28-31 in New Delhi, citing the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa” — a reference to the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda that the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern over the weekend.
In an announcement on Thursday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said consultations were held between the Government of India and the Chairperson of the African Union and the African Union Commission before the decision was taken.
“Following these consultations, the two sides agreed that it would be advisable to convene the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit at a later date,” the MEA said. New dates “will be finalised through mutual consultations and communicated in due course.”
The MEA expressed “solidarity with the peoples and Governments of Africa” and pledged to help them deal with the crisis through an “Africa-led” approach.
The Indian Council of World Affairs and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations had also planned a series of Africa-focused events around the summit. All of those events have been put on hold, even as some African delegates have already arrived in New Delhi.
The summit, which brings together African heads of state with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was set to take place after a gap of nearly eleven years. The last India-Africa Forum Summit was held in 2015. Officials had previously blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the long pause.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf this week called for “collective international solidarity and cooperation” to tackle the outbreak, saying Africa would “overcome” the challenge through unity.
The postponement marks the second major event delayed by the Bundibugyo Ebola PHEIC since the WHO declaration over the weekend. DRC health ministry figures published Thursday show 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases. A new case has now been confirmed in rebel-held South Kivu province hundreds of kilometres from the Ituri epicentre, raising fresh concerns about geographic spread. WHO has warned no vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain is expected for nine months.
