Islamabad has rejected an invitation sent by the United States to attend the second edition of 'Summit for Democracy', scheduled to be held in Washington on 29-30 March.
A statement by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Tuesday said that Islamabad was not part of the first Summit in 2021, which it said “required countries to make certain national commitments”.
"The Summit process is now at an advanced stage and therefore, Pakistan would engage bilaterally with the United States and co-hosts of the Summit to promote and strengthen democratic principles and values and work towards advancing human rights and the fight against corruption," said the foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry's statement, however, noted that the political engagement between Islamabad and Washington “widened and expanded substantially” under the Biden administration.
Among the South Asian countries, Washington has extended invitations only to New Delhi and Islamabad.
Criticism of Summit for Democracy
A total of 121 countries have been invited to attend this year’s event, co-hosted by Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and Zambia.
Interestingly, US NATO allies Hungary and Turkey have been excluded from the event. Singapore and Bangladesh haven’t also found their way on the invitee list.
The US State Department has refused to discuss criteria for participation in the summit, amid concerns that the event is being used by Washington to advance its own geopolitical ambitions and fuel international tensions.
China and Russia have both been critical of the summit and termed it a “divisive” event aimed at serving Washington’s own interests.
“This is another example of how the United States is politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing democracy," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in December 2021.
Alexander Mantytskiy, Moscow’s envoy to Dhaka, has said that the summit will further “fuel international tensions”.