No alternative date has been fixed for the Indo-Africa meet which was deferred due to spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in parts of Africa, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
The meeting was scheduled to be held in Gurgaon on December 4.
Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, in a written reply, told the Lok Sabha that the outbreak and swift spread of EVD in parts of Africa resulted in a situation, which required strong logistical arrangements to screen against the possible entry of the deadly virus into India.
He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also issued advisories for screening and quarantine requirements for travellers from the affected parts of Africa.
"Since it was decided to invite all African countries with which India has diplomatic relations to the third India-Africa Forum Summit, it was considered difficult to implement the screening and quarantine requirements for all the participants which would have included high-level delegations, mediapersons and business delegations," Singh
said.
The government, therefore, decided to defer the summit, Singh said.
