India will host the fourth edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) on May 31 in New Delhi, in partnership with the African Union Commission.
The summit will bring together leaders from across the African continent, representatives of the AU Commission, and regional organisations. The aim is to deepen the long-standing India-Africa partnership and chart a roadmap for expanded cooperation across multiple sectors.
India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, unveiled the theme of this year’s summit on the official event website. The fourth edition will be held under the banner: “The Soul of India and Africa: A Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Resilience, and Inclusive Transformation” – a reflection of the comprehensive nature of the bilateral ties.
Preparatory meetings
A series of preparatory meetings will precede the summit, including a meeting of India-Africa foreign ministers on May 29, 2026, following a senior officials’ meeting on May 28 to discuss key areas of joint collaboration.
The India-Africa Forum Summit serves as a vital platform for dialogue with African nations and the AU Commission, driving mutual cooperation guided by principles of mutual respect, equality, solidarity, and shared prosperity.
The previous edition of the forum resulted in a significant expansion of India’s development assistance and capacity-building programmes targeting Africa. The upcoming summit is expected to be a milestone event, cementing close ties of friendship and cooperation between India and Africa while bolstering South-South cooperation. It will also showcase governance and inclusive development initiatives developed over the past decade.
Tunisia-India relations: A shared resolve to diversify ties
Tunisia, which has maintained longstanding diplomatic relations with India since 1958, has consistently taken part in regional and international events hosted by New Delhi. Most recently, Tunisia attended the AI Impact Summit in February 2026.
Bilateral cooperation between Tunisia and India is governed by a range of mechanisms, agreements, and memoranda of understanding spanning economic, cultural, and scientific sectors. Key among them is the Political Consultations mechanism, whose sixth session was held in Tunis on March 27. During that meeting, both sides stressed the need to boost bilateral trade to $1 billion annually, up from the $449.56 million recorded between April 2025 and January 2026.
The two parties also agreed to strengthen collaboration in engineering, mining, agriculture, water resources, renewable energy, infrastructure, and digitalisation.
Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, India offers 100 training and skill-building opportunities to Tunisians each year. Since 2014, approximately 1,000 people from Tunisia’s public and private sectors have benefited from the scheme.
The first India-Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi in April 2008, the second in Addis Ababa in May 2011, and the third in October 2015, in which Tunisia participated with a high-level delegation led by its Minister of Foreign Affairs.
TunisianMonitorNews (Tlig Dhouha)
