3rd Summit for Democracy being hosted by South Korea
Summit and Conference
4 min read
South Korea hosted the 3rd Summit for Democracy in Seoul from 18-20 March 2024 in a hybrid format. The Summit for Democracy was started by American President Joe Biden in 2021 to address the emerging challenges to democracy from authoritarianism and defend and promote human rights.
The Summit was opened by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Summit for Democracy
The 1st Summit for Democracy was organised by the United States Department (Foreign Ministry) and hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden virtually on 9-10 December 2021. Over 100 countries' representatives attended it. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the summit.
The 2nd Summit for Democracy was co-hosted by the United States of America with Costa Rica, Zambia, South Korea and the Netherlands from 28-30 March 2023. It was also held mostly in virtual mode. Around 121 world leaders, including India, were invited to the summit.
3rd Summit For Democracy
At the end of the 2nd summit, it was decided that South Korea would host the 3rd summit.
The 3rd summit mainly focussed on threats to democracy from digital sources, including misinformation, deep fakes, and artificial intelligence.
The theme of the third Summit for Democracy 2024 was” Democracy for Future Generations.”
Participation in the 3rd Summit and China’s Criticism
Representatives of over 30 countries attended the 3rd summit, with Pakistan and China not invited. This included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Ecuador, Gambia, Guyana, and Mauritius, and other minister-level leaders.
This time, Pakistan was not invited. It was invited to the 2nd Summit, but it declined the invitation.
In all the three summits, China has not been invited but Taiwan has been invited. This year, South Korea also invited Taiwan to deliver a speech online. This move by South Korea was criticised by the Chinese government.
The Chinese foreign ministry said that the summit used democracy as an instrument and weapon and that China opposed the South Korean invitation to Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan as a part of China and is to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US and South Korea, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt by China to capture Taiwan through force.
Republic of Korea (South Korea)
It lies in the Korean peninsula in East Asia.
Capital: Seoul
Currency: South Korean Won
President: Yoon Suk Yeol
