Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called off his planned visits to Portugal and France early next month due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases at home. He will now hold a virtual summit with European Union leaders instead.

PM Modi was scheduled to travel to Porto for a summit with 27 EU leaders on May 8 and was  to follow it up with a visit to Paris for bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. The Indian and Portuguese prime ministers were also set to hold a bilateral summit.

“In view of the Covid-19 situation it has been decided in consultation with the EU and Portuguese leadership to hold the Indian-EU leaders meeting in a virtual format,” an external affairs ministry spokesperson said.

The summit is expected to give a push to efforts to revive negotiations on trade and investment agreements.

PM Modi was to travel to Portugal for the 16th India-EU summit that was scheduled for May 8, following which he was to travel to France for a bilateral visit.

In March, PM Modi visited Bangladesh for his first foreign trip since the pandemic curtailed all travel.