Summit for democracy: US views India as an 'indispensable partner', says top US official

As the President Joe Biden-led United States administration looks to host their first “Summit for Democracy” this week, the US has said that India is an “indispensable partner” for democratic cooperation. The comment from a top state official comes ahead of India’s appearance in the virtual gathering of more than one hundred countries. During the event, the countries will discuss the challenges faced by democracy and ways to boost the ideals of democracy around the world. The Summit for Democracy scheduled for December 9 and 10, will see the various stakeholders of democracies come together to discuss the many topics relating to democracy. State leaders, civil society and private sector representatives will take part in the forum, which the US sees as a “galvanizing moment” for the world’s democracies to come together. Ahead of this, the US officials have now termed India as a major unavoidable player in the same. “To work together to defend against authoritarianism, to elevate the fight against corruption, and to advance human rights both at home and abroad, we see India indispensable in this effort,” Under-Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya told ANI. “We are determined and we are optimistic that working with Democratic partners like India and partners from all over the world, we can turn the tide on these issues and truly show that democracy can adapt and can rise to 21st-century challenges and ultimately prevail,” Zeya added. China, Russia unhappy being excluded from the summit Beijing and Moscow, had earlier denounced the summit as an “exercise in hypocrisy” to promote US hegemony after both China and Russia were excluded from the gathering. The virtual gathering also garnered criticism from China for being a ‘strategy to divide Asia’ after India’s closest democratic neighbours like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan were excluded too. Responding to the allegations over the summit being a problematic move by the US, the Under-Secretary said that the summit was being held to achieve a broad, global geographic representation and assess and include governments and not cause division. “This summit is not about divisions or blocks, and in fact, our approach in participation was to try to achieve a broad, global geographic representation and assess and include governments that we see as ready to work with us on the three pillars of countering authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and advancing human rights,” the American diplomat said. China mocks US democracy Earlier, while addressing reporters in Beijing, the vice-minister said that the US had dropped China "intentionally" as the Communist government leads the country to become a superpower. According to him, the US is "frustrated" to witness China "transforming into a superpower country". Mocking US' democratic system, Lin said that political disputes and a divided government led to the high death toll during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Such democracy brings not happiness but disaster to voters," AP quoted Lin as saying. It should be mentioned here that US President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had held a virtual summit last month. Despite the meeting, the difference between the two countries appears to be widening. The invitation of Taiwan- a self-governing democracy that China claims as its own - to the Summit has further deteriorated relations between Washington and Beijing. (With agency inputs) Image: AP/ ANI

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Summit for democracy: US views India as an 'indispensable partner', says top US official

The Summit for Democracy scheduled for December 9 and 10, will see the various stakeholders of democracies come together to discuss various issues.

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