US invites Taiwan to its Summit for Democracy

US President Joe Biden has invited Taiwan, along with more than 100 countries, for a virtual summit.

Key Points

• US not invited China and Russia for this meeting.
• This conference was a campaign pledge by President Biden. He placed the struggle between ‘autocratic governments’ and democracies at the heart of his foreign policy.
• Even though US does not recognise Taiwan as an independent country, it invited Taiwan. US takes up Taiwan as a model democracy.

Summit for Democracy

The first ever “Summit for Democracy” is scheduled to take place online on December 9 and 10, 2021. The in-person meeting of the summit will be held at its second edition in 2022. This summit is being organised because democracy has suffered setbacks across countries where US had great hopes.

Which countries have been invited?

• Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States was not included on the list. President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was dubbed an “autocrat” by US President.
• In the Middle East, only Israel and Iraq have been added to the list.
• Traditional Arab allies of the US namely, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are all absent.
• US has also invited Brazil, which is headed by President Jair Bolsonaro.
• On the African side, Kenya, Congo, South Africa, Nigeria and Niger are invited.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2021