US President Biden invites PM Imran to virtual summit on democracy 

ISLAMABAD – US President Joe Biden has invited Prime Minister Imran Khan to a virtual summit for democracy being held in Washington in December.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Asim Iftikhar confirmed that Pakistan had received the invitation from the US State Department. 

The invitation has been forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office for a final decision. If the Pakistani premier agrees to attend the event, it would be the first ever virtual interaction between him and Biden. 

The virtual summit is scheduled to take place in the US capital on December 9-10, 2021. The US has invited around 110 countries to the event.

The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and will provide a platform for leaders to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad.

For the United States, the summit will offer an opportunity to listen, learn, and engage with a diverse range of actors whose support and commitment is critical for global democratic renewal.

An official statement from the US says the summit would also showcase one of democracy’s unique strengths: the ability to acknowledge its imperfections and confront them openly and transparently, so that we may, as the United States Constitution puts it, “form a more perfect union.”

“In advance of the first summit, we are consulting with experts from government, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, civil society, and the private sector to solicit bold, practicable ideas around three key themes of ,Defending against authoritarianism,Addressing and fighting corruption and Promoting respect for human rights, the state department statement said.

The official US statement said leaders will be encouraged to announce specific actions and commitments to meaningful internal reforms and international initiatives that advance the Summit’s goals.

These pledges will include domestic and international initiatives that counter authoritarianism, combat corruption and promote respect for human rights.

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