White House Correspondents of CSB NEWS USA: Third Democracy Summit, Two Special Assistants to Biden, said a special briefing organized on the sidelines of the third Democracy Summit held in South Korea. This stance was expressed by Cali Razzook, Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights at the NSC, speaking on behalf of the Biden administration at this special briefing held at the Foreign Press Center in Washington on Wednesday. Also speaking at this special briefing was Mahir Bittar, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Coordinator for Intelligence and Security Policy.
White House Correspondents, asked, “I believe it’s because the powerful ruling party in Bangladesh has not received an invitation to the Third Democracy Summit. My question is, despite assurances from the Biden administration to take any steps necessary to ensure free and fair elections in Bangladesh, why haven’t we seen any visible steps taken after the sham elections? Like we have seen in countries like Nicaragua, Nigeria, Guatemala, or Cambodia?”
In response, Cali Razzook stated, “I am not discussing the invitation to the top summit. Because it will be held by the South Korean side this time. But regarding the election, your question, we want to state clearly that the election was neither free nor fair. And we are concerned that members of political opposition parties were not able to participate in the election. We are also concerned about the arrest of members of political opposition parties. Looking forward, the United States is committed to partnering with Bangladesh to ensure the democracy in the Indo-Pacific region is free and strong. We want to deepen the economic relationship between the two countries’ peoples and discuss with the Bangladesh government how to move forward in developing global democracy.”
In this context, in Seoul, the capital of Korea, the third Democracy Summit is being held on 18-20 March. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will represent the United States at the summit. In 2021, President Biden vowed to lead the first-ever Democracy Summit to bring together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector worldwide to advance democratic governance, human rights, and fight against corruption.
A major priority at the third summit is a concerted global effort to combat the misuse of espionage.
