Online Reporter
ADDIS ABABA. – The African Union) has agreed with India to postpone a planned summit in New Delhi, citing the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 160 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one person in neighbouring Uganda.
The fourth India-Africa Forum Summit had been scheduled to take place from May 28 to 31. In a joint statement last week, India and the AU said they had exchanged views on the “evolving health situation” in parts of the continent and agreed that it would be “advisable” to hold the summit at a later date.
“New dates for the summit and its associated meetings will be finalized through mutual consultations and communicated in due course,”
India also expressed its “solidarity with the peoples and governments of Africa” and said it is ready to support efforts by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to address the Ebola crisis, “in line with the shared commitment to an Africa-led response.”
The summit, inaugurated in New Delhi in 2008, would have been convened this year for the first time in more than a decade. The last editions were held in 2011 and 2015. It is the main platform for high-level engagement between India and African states, focusing on trade, development cooperation, capacity building, technology, security, and South-South cooperation. – rt.com
