Yoon and Biden to Co-Host 'Democracy Summit' in March Next Year

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden will jointly host the 2nd Democracy Summit on March 29-30 next year.

According to the White House on the 29th (local time), the co-host countries of the 2nd Democracy Summit include South Korea and the United States, as well as the Netherlands (Europe), Zambia (Africa), and Costa Rica (Latin America), representing each continent.

This summit is based on the 1st Democracy Summit held last December under the leadership of President Biden. At that time, more than 110 heads of state participated to respond to the global rise of authoritarianism and the decline of democracy, and about 750 commitments to protect and strengthen democracy were announced.

The White House stated, "At the 2nd summit, we will showcase the implementation status of the commitments made at the 1st summit to build the resilience of democracy and announce new commitments and initiatives to maintain momentum," adding, "The summit will reaffirm the central role of democratic institutions in safeguarding freedom and achieving prosperity, and emphasize the effectiveness of collective action in addressing the most urgent challenges of our time."

On the first day of the 2nd summit, March 29 next year, a plenary session chaired by the heads of the five co-host countries will be held virtually. Additionally, hybrid meetings will be held within each co-host country with representatives from government, civil society, and the private sector attending. The South Korean government will lead the Indo-Pacific regional meeting on the theme of anti-corruption.

The White House emphasized, "This summit will demonstrate how democracy contributes to citizens' lives and is optimally prepared to address the world's most urgent challenges," and "We look forward to another successful summit and will accelerate concrete actions for democratic renewal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.