President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted the invitation of United States President Joseph Biden to attend the Summit for Democracy on December 9 to 10, the Office of the President (OP) confirmed Tuesday.
“President Duterte welcomes the opportunity to share the Philippine democratic experience and commitment to democratic values and nation-building at the Summit for Democracy,” the OP statement read.
Biden said Washington is hosting the summit “with humility and in the spirit of mutual learning.”
“We recognize and appreciate your partnership in working to build democratic and human-rights respecting societies that allow all citizens to thrive. In a moment of significant challenge and enormous opportunity, it is more important than ever for democracies to prove that we can deliver for the needs of our people,” the US president said in his invitation as quoted by the OP.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summit for Democracy would be held virtually. Government, civil society, and private sector leaders are expected to attend 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,” the US State Department said.
Duterte to join Summit for Democracy of United States
The US State Department is in consultation with experts from multilateral organizations, government, civil society, the private sector, and philanthropies, to create ideas around the Summit for Democracy’s three key themes:
- defending against authoritarianism
- addressing and fighting corruption and
- promoting respect for human rights.
In October, President Duterte said he might visit the United States to thank the American government for their generous COVID-19 vaccines donation to the Philippines.
“Ang bait ng Amerika. Punta kaya ako ng Amerika, just to thank the American government and the people (The American government is kind. Maybe I should pay a visit to thank them and the people),” Duterte said in a taped address.
According to records of the US Embassy in Manila, the US government has provided at least 24.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines via COVAX global aid facility. In addition, they also donated more than 16.4 million vaccines.
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