Kumar Bahukhandi
“I strongly congratulate India for organising this Summit,” Guterres said. (PTI)
United Nations : India is a “very successful” emerging economy with a bigger influence in global affairs, and is the “right place” to host the AI summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said on Sunday February 15, 2025 .
In an exclusive interview with PTI at the UN Headquarters ahead of the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, Guterres underscored that Artificial Intelligence should benefit the entire world and not just be a privilege reserved for developed nations or two superpowers.
“I strongly congratulate India for organising this Summit. It’s absolutely essential that AI develops itself to the benefit of everybody, everywhere and that countries in the Global South are part of the benefits of AI,” he said.
The high-powered event being held from February 16 to 20 will be the first-ever AI summit hosted in the Global South and is anchored in the three guiding principles of ‘People, Planet and Progress’.
Guterres, who will be travelling to India to attend the Summit, asserted “it would be totally unacceptable that AI would be just a privilege of the most developed countries or a division only between two superpowers”, an apparent reference to the US and China .
“It is absolutely essential that AI becomes a universal instrument for the benefit of humankind,” Guterres said.
“The role of India, (which) is today a very successful emerging economy that is having a bigger and bigger role in not only the global economy but in its influence in global affairs, India is the right place to have this Summit and to make sure that AI (is) being discussed in depth, in all its enormous potential and also in all its risks, but that AI belongs to the whole world and not only to a few,” he said.
(With PTI inputs )
