Biden has also invited Brazil even though its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized as having an authoritarian bent and was a firm supporter of Donald Trump.
Washington: US President Joe Biden has invited 110 countries to a virtual summit on democracy scheduled to be held on December 9-10, excluding China, Turkey, and Russia, as per a list posted on the State Department website on Tuesday. The list however includes Taiwan which is likely to increase tension between US and China. Turkey, which like America is a member of NATO, is also missing from the list of participants. The list further includes major Western allies of the US. It also includes India, Pakistan and Iraq. In the South Asian region Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have been excluded.
Traditional Arab allies of the US — Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are not invited. Biden has also invited Brazil even though its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized as having an authoritarian bent and was a firm supporter of Donald Trump
Meanwhile, in Europe, Poland was invited to the summit despite persistent tension with the European Union over its human rights record. Hungary, led by hardline nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was not invited. In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Nigeria and Niger are among the countries on the list.
In announcing the summit back in August, the White House said the meeting would “galvanize commitments and initiatives across three principal themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.”
