Democracy Summit 2021: The President of the United States Joe Biden has invited more than 100 countries to a virtual summit on democracy to be held on December 9-10, 2021. The invite list of the democracy summit includes India and Taiwan but excludes China, a move which is bound to anger the country.
The virtual democracy summit was a campaign pledge by the US President, who placed the struggle between the democracies and the autocratic governments at the heart of his foreign policy. The Summit for Democracy will be taking place ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition in 2022.
The main rivals of the United States- Russia and China- have been excluded from the list, however, the inclusion of Taiwan is guaranteed to further escalate the tensions between US and China.
It is widely known that China resists any use of the word ‘Taiwan’ as it lends a sense of international legitimacy to the democratic self-ruled island, which China claims as part of its territory and has also vowed to seize one day.
The final list leaves out Russia, while in the South Asia region Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have been excluded, according to a list posted on the State Department website on Tuesday.
— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2021
Democracy Summit invite list
Who is invited?
1. To a virtual summit on democracy, including the major western alliances, the US has invited India and Pakistan from the South Asia region.
2. From East Asia, Japan is invited to the summit.
3. Taiwan is invited to the virtual summit on democracy. A major diplomatic move that will further escalate the tensions between US and China.
4. Among the Middle East countries, only Iraq and Israel have been invited to the summit on Democracy.
5. Brazil is invited even though Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right President has been criticized as having an authoritarian bent. He was also a firm supporter of Donald Trump.
6. Poland has been invited to the summit despite the continuous tension with the EU over its human rights record. Philippines is also invited.
7. In Africa, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, and Nigeria are invited to Biden Democracy Summit.
Who is not invited?
1. China and Russia, the principal rivals of the United States are not invited to Democracy Summit.
2. Turkey is missing from the participant’s list. The country is also US’s NATO ally.
3. Traditional Arab allies of the United States- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, are not on the democracy summit invite list.
4. As per the list posted on the US State Department website, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are excluded from the summit.
5. Hungary is not invited. The country is led by the hardline nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Three principal themes at democracy summit
While announcing the Democracy Summit back in August 2021, the US had said that the meeting on democracy will stimulate the initiatives and commitments across three principal themes:
1. Defending against authoritarianism
2. Fighting Corruption
3. Promoting Respect for Human Rights
Democracy Summit: Why it is being organized?
A Virtual Summit on Democracy is being organized by the United States as the democracy has suffered major setbacks in the nations where the country had placed great hopes. Myanmar and Sudan have experienced military coups. Taliban has taken over Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US troops and Ethiopia is in the midst of a conflict that can lead to its implosion.
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