After African leaders in the capital decided to boycott the Centre's Africa Day celebrations in Delhi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has assured diplomats of the government’s commitment to their safety, NDTV reported. The diplomats’ move came days after a Congolese man was beaten to death in Delhi, allegedly after getting into an argument with a group of men about catching an autorickshaw.

Swaraj also said Minister of State for External Affairs, VK Singh, will meet leaders of the African countries, and that the Centre will launch a sensitisation programme “to reiterate that such incidents against foreign nationals embarrass the country”.

After a meeting in the High Commission of Ghana on Tuesday, diplomats from several African countries urged the Centre to take steps “to guarantee the safety of Africans in India, including appropriate programmes of public awareness that will address the problems of racism and Afro-phobia in India”. The group also asked that Africa Day celebrations be postponed because the community was in mourning.