By Hadra Ahmed
Addis Ababa, Jan 22 (IANS): An Indian delegation led by Secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry Dinkar Kullar is attending the 22nd summit of the African Union (AU) being held here Jan 21-31.

The delegates will be attending the 27th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council Jan 27-28. The AU comprises 54 African countries.

This year’s summit is being held under the theme ‘Year of Agriculture and Food Security’. Apart from attending the AU Summit, the Indian delegates are expected to meet Ethiopian authorities and the African Union Commission (AUC) to discuss various issues regarding India-Africa relations, according to official statements.

They are expected to exchange views on participation in the third India-African Forum Summit (IAFS-III), which is scheduled to be held in July in New Delhi, India.

They will also discuss different training programmes and capacity building projects.

The IAFS is the official platform for African-Indian relations. It was first held April 4-8, 2008, in New Delhi. It was the first such meeting between the government of India and 14 African countries chosen by the AU.

The second summit was held at Addis Ababa in 2011 with India and 15 African countries participating.