New dates for the gathering, which would be the first in more than a decade, will be announced after consultations over the crisis, the two sides have said
The African Union (AU) 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 neighboring Uganda.
The fourth India-Africa Forum Summit had been scheduled to take place from May 28 to 31. In a joint statement on Thursday, 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,” according to the statement.
India also expressed its “solidarity with the peoples and governments of Africa” and said it is ready to support efforts by the Africa Centers 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.
The postponement comes as the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain in eastern DR Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern and deployed more than 35 experts and first responders to the field.
The authorities in DR Congo declared the outbreak on May 15, its 17th recorded Ebola epidemic since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976. So far, officials have reported more than 670 suspected cases and over 160 suspected deaths, mainly in Ituri and North Kivu, with new cases also emerging in South Kivu, where M23 rebels have seized territory during renewed fighting with the government.
The Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine or specific treatment, although early supportive care can improve survival.
On Friday, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher announced up to $60 million in emergency funding to accelerate the Ebola response in DR Congo and “the wider region.”
