U.S., Costa Rica, Netherlands, Zambia, South Korea to host 2nd Democracy Summit

The U.S., Costa Rica, Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia will co-host the virtual Second Summit for Democracy on March 29-according to a statement Tuesday.

The summit will convene world leaders in a virtual format and will be followed by hybrid gatherings in each of the host countries with representatives from government, civil society and the private sector, said the statement by the five countries.

"Building on the first Summit for Democracy held in December 2021, this gathering will demonstrate how democracies deliver for their citizens and are best equipped to address the world's most pressing challenges," it said.

The summit is a follow-up of the first hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, where world leaders and representatives of civil society and the private sector discussed the "backward" slide of democracy.

"This summit is a kickoff of a year in action for all of our countries to follow through on our commitments, and report back next year on the progress we've made," Biden told the virtual summit last year.