US president invites only one Arab state to December democracy summit
US president invites only one Arab state to December democracy summit
A summit next month will bring together over 100 nations for a virtual meeting to discuss democracy and the challenges it faces around the world, however most Arab nations have been left in the cold.
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The summit is set to discuss the situation of democracies and autocracies around the world [Getty]
US President Ìýhas invited over 100 countries to a virtual summit on next month, leaving out most of Washington's keyÌýallies in the Middle East.
"Summit for Democracy"Ìýis scheduled to take place online between 9 and 10 December ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition next year. The State Department published the guest list on its website on Tuesday.
The only Middle EastÌýcountries invited were Iraq and the US'Ìýstrongest ally, .
Last month'sÌý dealt a heavy blow to pro-IranÌýfactions in the country, as Baghdad - backed by the US and someÌýGulf states - tries to crack down onÌýmilitias and minimise Tehran’s influence.
US allies Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, as well as Turkey, are all absent from Biden's list.
Biden last year called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an "autocrat" and relations between the two have been tense since he entered the White House.
The summit comes as several countries around the world witness ongoing wars and coups.
This year alone in the Arab world, two countries have seen power grabs ending a short-lived period of .
On July 25, Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked the government, suspended parliament,Ìýand seized an array of powers, citing an "imminent threat" to the country - widely viewed as the only successÌýstory of the Arab Spring.
Exactly three months later, Sudan'sÌýtop military general and de-facto leader, General Abdel Fattah Al-BurhanÌýdissolved the government, detained the civilian leadership, and declared a state of emergency.
The East African country had been ruled by a joint civilian-military council since August 2019 after the ousting of former president Omar Al-Bashir, and was supposed to carry out a democratic transition of power until elections next year.
Other nations which will attend the summit include India, Pakistan, Brazil, as well as Taiwan, despite not being recognised as an independent state by Washington.
Taiwan's invite will most likely anger Beijing and further harm US-China relations.
Although self-governed, Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of its own territory and has threatened to take over the tiny island democracy one day.
Biden has previously vowed to protect Taiwan against any Chinese aggression.
China was not invited, and nor was the US' other superpower rival Russia.
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