Many South Asian countries were not invited to the two-day summit; US officials admit numbers were ‘arbitrarily’ restricted
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will not attend the two-day program of US President Joseph Biden ‘Summit for Democracy’ Starting on Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry announced on Friday, making India one of only three South Asian countries to participate, along with Nepal and the Maldives.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka were not invited to the event.
Read also | Biden administration invites Taiwan to summit of democracy
When asked, a US diplomat admitted that the limit on the number of people invited to the list was “arbitrary”, but hoped that other democratic countries in the region would be invited to the next summit.
“Yes, not all countries in the region have been asked to join,” Jennifer Larsen, assistant deputy secretary of state for South and Central Asia, said in response to a question. Hindu Given that electoral democracies such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are not invited, how did the US government decide on its list of “democracies”.
Pakistan’s decision comes on the back of Strong criticism of US summit plan from China, which have not been invited, along with Russia, possibly because they are communist single party states.
“We value our partnership with the US that we seek to expand in terms of bilateral as well as regional and international cooperation. We remain in touch with the US on a range of issues and believe that we can engage on this topic at an appropriate time in the future,” the Pakistan MFA said on Thursday, but did not give any specific reason for not attending the summit.
Significantly, the invitation to Mr Khan was given despite the fact that Pakistan is one of the few countries with which the US has strategic talks, but Mr Biden has not called Mr Khan since taking office in January 2021 Is. The absence of any access from Mr Biden to Mr Khan, even as the US military and State Department are in close cooperation on Afghanistan, has been seen in Islamabad as a thug, and by some in the Khan government. But it was suggested to send a nominee. incident or missing it altogether.
Read also | China, Russia upset over Joe Biden not attending planned democracy summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi It is due to speak during the leaders’ plenary session on Friday, where all leaders are expected to make specific commitments to promote democracy on the lines of the climate change summit, officials informed of the agenda.
“Definitely India is going to play a major role. We would encourage those who were not [invited] To act on commitments to democracy. We have asked several invitees to speak to demonstrate commitments towards promoting democratic ideals and we encourage those who may not be part of this year’s list to attend the next summit. to continue working with us, which I believe. Will be done in two years,” Ms Larsen said during a question-and-answer session at the Indian Ocean Region Conference held over the weekend in Abu Dhabi, which was attended by neighborhood leaders including Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, foreign minister. S Jaishankar and Foreign Ministers and other leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.
,