US President Joe Biden will organize a virtual summit of “leaders from a diverse group of the world’s democracies” in December this year, with another meeting a year later in a full-time format, the White House announced in a Wednesday statement. The event is said to be an attempt to unite "democratic" governments against the growing influence of "authoritarian" states. According to the statement, the summit, scheduled for 9-10 December, will bring together "heads of state, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector". The next summit will be summoned to assess the progress achieved following the December 2021 meeting. “We’re not trying to define who’s a democracy and who isn’t,” the official said.

Source: The Nation August 12, 2021 02:37 UTC