US President Joe Biden, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, along with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol are delivering opening speeches at the plenary session of the summit.
Besides the leaders of the five co-host countries, the United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as wells as presidents and prime ministers of a number of participant countries, are also scheduled to address the leader-level plenary event aimed "to renew democracy at home and confront autocracies abroad."
It follows closely on the heels of the Second International Conference on Democracy, which took place last week in Beijing. There participants asserted that there is no one set recipe or model for democracy because each nation has unique political traditions and needs.
The first Washington-led Democracy Summit was held in December 2021.
Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!