A May summit between EU and Indian leaders will be held virtually instead of in-person as planned due to coronavirus concerns, New Delhi said Tuesday. https://www.eudebates.tv/ Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was originally set to visit the Portuguese city of Porto for the May 8 summit, but has canceled the trip amid India's rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak.<br /><br />#eudebates #India #Emergency #Summit <br /><br />"In view of the COVID-19 situation, it has been decided, in consultation with the EU and Portuguese leadership, to hold the India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in a virtual format on 8 May 2021,” an Indian government spokesperson said in a statement. “The India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in the EU+27 format, the first time that such a meeting is being held, reflects the shared ambition of both sides to further deepen the Strategic Partnership.” <br /><br />A spokeswoman for the Portuguese permanent representation to the EU said this was “the official line from both sides.”<br /><br />Modi's no-show will be a blow to Portugal's original plan to make the India summit the diplomatic highlight of its six-month Council of the EU presidency.<br /><br />The change of plan was prompted by India's rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, India suffered a record-breaking 273,810 new daily infections. The total number of confirmed cases is now more than 15 million.<br /><br />India’s infection rate has surged in recent days. On Tuesday, the country reported 259,170 new cases over the last 24 hours and 1,761 deaths.<br /><br />British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday also canceled his plan to visit New Delhi. Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping canceled a planned summit with all EU leaders in Leipzig, Germany, owing to the pandemic.<br /><br />https://www.eudebates.tv/ #eudebates
