UN chief Guterres pats India's leadership of global AI efforts

United Nations: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised India for taking the leadership in facing the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) through the summit it has convened.

Guterres said on Wednesday that he was "delighted" to have the chance to participate in the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to be held in New Delhi from February 16 to 20.

"I do believe that AI is today, an absolutely crucial issue in international relations and one of the biggest challenges of all times," he said.

"So, it is very important that countries come together, discuss it also with the civil society in all kinds of circumstances."

"I praise India for having assumed leadership in relation to these to these summits," he said at a news conference unveiling the proposed membership of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence that the UN is creating.

Over 35,000 people from more than 100 countries have registered for the summit, according to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

More than 500 startups will also be participating in what is expected to be the biggest of the four summits held so far, the Ministry said.

It added that the large participation is "reflecting the growing international momentum around responsible, inclusive and impact-driven Artificial Intelligence".

Guterres said that one of his messages to the heads of state and government and leaders at the summit will be "how can we better mobilise international community to support capacity building in developing countries".

"I believe that for India as a developing country, even if with remarkable capacity already existing ... this objective is the central objective of the summit," the UN Chief added. "And of course, my message to the summit will be directly linked to the conclusions of our Global Digital Compact" and to explain to the participants "what exactly will be the role of our international scientific panel, (and) what do we expect from the dialogues," he said.

The Global Digital Compact, adopted by the world leaders at the UN Summit of the Future in 2024, lays out the principles for dealing collaboratively to ensure that digital developments benefit all and deal with the impact of digital technologies on the environment, the economy, and human rights.

The International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence was established by the General Assembly last year to report on developments in the field and promote global dialogue for its governance.