The Ebola public health emergency in Africa cast its shadow on India’s diplomatic calendar with the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday (May 21, 2026) ‌announcing postponement of the India-Africa Forum Summit-IV that was scheduled for May 28-31. 

In an announcement, the MEA hinted at the Ebola crisis and said the decision was taken in view of the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa”.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that consultations were held between the Government of India and the Chairperson of the African Union and the African Union Commission regarding the “emerging public health situation on the continent.” 

“Following these consultations, the two sides agreed that it would be advisable to convene the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit at a later date,” said the MEA. 

Along with the summit, there were several other events related to Africa that were planned to take place under the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and ICCR and it is understood that all those events have also been put on hold, though some African delegates have already arrived in New Delhi for the same reasons.

India expressed “solidarity with the peoples and Governments of Africa” and pledged to help them in dealing with the crisis with an “Africa-led” approach.

The MEA said that new dates for the Summit and its associated meetings “will be finalised through mutual consultations and communicated in due course”. 

The cancellation of the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit is being viewed as a setback to the India-Africa relation though officials are hinting that the decision was taken in the best interest of all stakeholders.

Earlier, the African Union had called for ‘collective international solidarity and cooperation’ to deal with the outbreak of Ebola virus that affected multiple countries including Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Responding to queries from The Hindu, a spokesperson of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission said earlier this week that Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit would provide an opportunity to work on “future pandemics” and response mechanism.

“While the Ebola outbreak is affecting a number of African countries, it is important to underscore that pandemics and public health emergencies respect no borders and require collective international solidarity and cooperation,” said Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, Spokesperson of the Chairperson, African Union Commission on Monday (May 18, 2026) in an email response to The Hindu. 

The communication from the African Union came a day after the World Health Organisation declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda “a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)”.

Earlier, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf expressed deep concern about the Ebola Virus Disease and said, Africa will ‘overcome’ the latest challenge through “unity, coordination and collective

The Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit was planned to be held between May 28 to 31, 2026 after a gap of nearly eleven years. The last India-Africa Forum Summit was held in 2015. Officials here had blamed the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-’21 for being responsible for the long gap between the two India-Africa Forum Summits. Prior to 2015 similar summits were held in 2011 and 2008. 

The India-Africa Forum Summits have emerged as the largest structured events that combine diplomatic, cultural, financial and political interactions between India and countries of the African continent.

Source: The Hindu

--Agencies