An Egyptian official source said there is a move toward postponing the African Union's Mid-Year Coordination Summit, which had been scheduled for the end of this month, due to the widespread spread of the Ebola virus in several African countries.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the outbreak has prompted the Egyptian government, in coordination with the African Union, to review plans for holding the summit and its accompanying events, including the El Alamein-Africa Business Forum. The summit and related activities are expected to be rescheduled for later this year.
The African Union Commission had been preparing to hold the summit on June 27. The gathering brings together the African Union and regional economic communities with the aim of accelerating economic integration across the continent.
The Egyptian government had also been preparing to host the inaugural El Alamein-Africa Forum from June 25 to 27, with the participation of government representatives, private-sector leaders and entrepreneurs from across Africa.
According to Egyptian sources, an announcement postponing the summit is expected until the health situation related to the spread of Ebola stabilizes.
The World Health Organization has expressed growing concern over the spread of Ebola following the rise in infections in Central Africa.
The organization previously raised its assessment of the outbreak risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda from "high" to "very high." WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the risk level "remains high at the regional level."
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently warned that the current outbreak identified by the World Health Organization could reach a scale similar to the record outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people in West Africa, if strict containment measures are not implemented.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry previously announced the establishment of the El Alamein-Africa Forum as a permanent African business forum to be held every two years in Egypt. It said the inaugural edition, scheduled for this year, would bring together more than 20 heads of state and government, along with prominent leaders from international and regional financial institutions and key figures from Africa's business community.
