The EU-India summit, which was due to take place in Brussels next week, has been indefinitely postponed over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit has been canceled too
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th March, 2020) The EU-India summit, which was due to take place in Brussels next week, has been indefinitely postponed over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit has been canceled too.
Modi was expected to fly to Brussels for the summit on March 13. On Wednesday, however, the first two COVID-19 cases were confirmed in EU institutions in Brussels. According to the latest data, the total number of coronavirus cases in Belgium has climbed to 50. India has 29 confirmed cases.
"With regard to the proposed India-EU Summit, both sides have agreed that due to health authorities advising against travel between regions, it would be wise to re-schedule the Summit to a later mutually convenient date," the ministry's spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said.
Kumar added that the decision was made in "the spirit of the close cooperation between India and the EU who share the same concerns and commitment to global health and hope that the outbreak is contained soon."
As of Thursday, more than 95,700 cases of the coronavirus have been reported globally, with more than 3,200 deaths, a vast majority of which were in China, where the virus was first detected. At the same time, more than 53,400 people have recovered. In Europe, Italy remains the worst-hit country.
