Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually participate in the first two-day ‘Summit for Democracy’ hosted by US President Joe Biden beginning on Thursday.

Over 100 countries, including India, have been invited, but China and Russia have been left out. Pakistan is reportedly skipping the event in solidarity with China.

“It’s no secret that democracies around the world are facing increasing challenges from new and novel threats. Countries in virtually every region of the world have experienced degrees of democratic backsliding,” said Uzra Zeya, Under-Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

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Zeya told mediapersons that the US saw India as indispensable to the effort of working together to defend against authoritarianism, to elevate the fight against corruption, and to advance human rights both at home and abroad.

Biden’s opening remarks at the event will be followed by two plenary sessions — the first hosted by Biden and the other by Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission.

The next session will have remarks on ‘Bolstering Democratic Resilience’ by Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Mary Kay Henry, International President, Service Employees International Union.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will then host a panel discussion on ‘Bolstering Democratic Resilience: Building Back Better Together from COVID-19’. The discussants include Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; Silvia Hernández Sánchez, President of the Legislative Assembly, Costa Rica; Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone; Violeta Bermudez, former Prime Minister, Peru; and Douglas Rutzen, President, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law.

This will be followed by a panel discussion on ‘Preventing and Countering Corruption’, hosted by US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. The participants include Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of Botswana; Zuzana Čaputová, President of Slovakia; Reuben Lifuka, Vice Chair, Transparency International, Zambia; Diana Salazar, Attorney General, Ecuador; and Daria Kaleniuk, Executive Director, Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Ukraine.

The closing remarks for Thursday will be delivered by US Vice-President Kamala Harris.