The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday announced that the Indo-EU summit that was scheduled for March 13, 2020 in the Belgian capital of Brussels stands postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Brussels for the important summit.
The MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said:
“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 decision has been taken 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”.
The Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also added that the Indian diplomatic mission in Iran is taking all efforts in ensuring the safety of the Indian community in Iran.
Also Read: J&K HC orders evacuation of Indian students in Iran amidst fears over COVID 2019
In this regard, the Minister of External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar had tweeted earlier in the day that a medical mission from India will be departing for Iran where a temporary screening centre will be set up before they are brought back to India.
Update for Indians stranded in #Iran and for their families: Our medical team for screening arrives in Iran today. Hope to establish first clinic at Qom by this evening. Screening process will start immediately thereafter. Working on logistics of return with Iranian authorities.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 5, 2020
However, for all this, the cooperation of the Iranian authorities is needed.
The Government also imposed certain restrictions on issuance of visas and a temporary revocation of the validity of e-visas of those nationals from South Korea and China.
The Ministry further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Dhaka to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A schedule regarding this is yet to be announced at a later date.
The issue of Delhi violence came up when a question was posed to the Spokesperson. He replied stating that these are sensitive times and lashed out at nations attempting to meddle into the internal affairs of India.
Finally, India indicated that it is closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan in view of the accord that was signed last Sunday between the Taliban and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.