The India-Africa Forum summit has been postponed due to the Ebola outbreak
The India-Africa Forum Summit was scheduled to be held in New Delhi from May 28 to 31, 2026. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Ebola public health emergency in Africa cast its shadow on India’s diplomatic calendar with the Ministry of External Affairs and the African Union on Thursday (May 21, 2026). announces a postponement of the India-Africa Forum Summit-IV, which was to be held here from May 28 to 31. In a joint statement, the MEA and AU hinted at the Ebola crisis, saying the decision was taken in view of the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa”.
The last such summit was held more than a decade ago and was also postponed for a year due to the Ebola outbreak.
Consultations were held between the Government of India and the African Union Chairperson and African Union Commission on the “emerging public health situation on the continent”, the MEA and AU said in a statement. “Following these consultations, both sides agreed that it would be appropriate to convene the fourth summit of the India-Africa Forum at a later date,” they added.
The Indian Council for World Affairs and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations held several other Africa-related events, which were also cancelled, although some African delegates had already arrived in New Delhi for these events.
The new dates for the Summit and related meetings “will be finalized through mutual consultation and communicated in due course,” the MEA said. The cancellation of the summit is seen as a setback to India-Africa ties, although officials insisted that the decision was taken in the best interest of all parties involved.
Solidarity and help
India expressed “solidarity with the peoples and governments of Africa” and pledged to help them resolve the crisis through an “Africa-led” approach.
Earlier, the African Union called for “collective international solidarity and cooperation” to deal with the Ebola outbreak, which has affected several countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
A spokesman for Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairman of the African Union Commission, told The Hindu earlier this week that the fourth summit of the India-Africa Forum would provide an opportunity to work on “future pandemics” and a response mechanism.
“While the Ebola outbreak is affecting a number of African countries, it is important to emphasize that pandemics and public health emergencies respect no borders and require collective international solidarity and cooperation,” spokesperson Nuur Mohamud Sheekh said in an email response to The Hindu on Monday (May 18, 2026). This comes a day after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)”.
Mr Youssouf has previously expressed deep concern over the Ebola virus and vowed that Africa will “overcome” this latest public health challenge through “unity, coordination and collective action”.
A ten-year gap since the last summit
The fourth summit of the India-Africa Forum was scheduled to take place between May 28 and 31, after nearly 11 years. Indian officials blame the COVID-19 pandemic for the long gap since the last such summit in 2015.
Former Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia Gurjit Singh expressed confidence that the summit will be held once the latest health crisis in Africa stabilizes. He pointed out that the third summit of the India-Africa Forum was supposed to be held in 2014 but had to be similarly postponed by a year due to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The India-Africa Forum Summits have emerged as the largest structured events that combine diplomatic, cultural, financial and political interactions between India and the countries of the African continent. The first two summits were held in 2008 and 2011.
Published – 21 May 2026 15:41 IST