United Nations, February 15 India, a “very successful” emerging economy with a significant influence on global affairs, is the “ideal” location to host the AI summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
In an exclusive interview with PTI at the UN Headquarters ahead of the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, Guterres emphasized that Artificial Intelligence should benefit the entire world and not just be a privilege for developed nations or two superpowers.
“I strongly commend India for organizing this Summit. It is absolutely essential that AI develops to the benefit of everyone, everywhere, and that countries in the Global South are a part of the benefits of AI,” he said.
The high-powered event, taking place from February 16 to 20, will be the first AI summit hosted in the Global South, anchored in the three guiding principles of “People, Planet, and Progress.”
Guterres, who will be traveling 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.”
“It is absolutely essential that AI becomes a universal instrument for the benefit of humankind,” Guterres said.
“India, which is today a very successful emerging economy with an increasing role in not only the global economy but also in its influence on global affairs, is the right place to host this Summit and to ensure that AI is thoroughly discussed, exploring its immense potential and also its risks, but that AI belongs to the whole world and not just a few,” he added.
The Summit brings together leaders, policymakers, and innovators from across the world, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, for in-depth discussions on the future of AI.
Guterres had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York during the G20 Summit in Johannesburg last year.
Highlighting India's contribution to a multipolar world, Guterres expressed his anticipation of discussing this with the Indian leadership during his visit to New Delhi.
“We need to avoid two things. We need to avoid a system where only one power dominates or a system where the world is divided between two superpowers,” he said.
Guterres added that he is a “strong advocate” for true multipolarity in the world.
For true multipolarity, it is important for emerging economies to have a “greater” role and to establish a “stronger” network of trade, technological, and international cooperation.
In this regard, he said the recent trade agreement between India and the European Union is a “good example.” “India is one of the most relevant emerging economies,” he said.
“We are seeing across the world, more and more, the creation of a network of, I would say, all developed countries, but also, and very importantly, emerging economies creating a true multipolarity without any hegemony, and allowing, then, multilateral organizations to be effective,” he added.
Emphasizing the importance of multipolarity, Guterres spoke about his “frustration” over the UN Security Council’s failure to address conflicts and maintain international peace and security.
“When one looks at the UN, you can imagine my frustration when I see the Security Council unable to take decisions, and it is clear that we need a fundamental reform of the Security Council, first of all, to represent the world as it is today and not after the Second World War. And second, to be able to take effective decisions for peace and security around the world,” he said.
Guterres added that for a “fair” multilateral system, both in the UN and international financial institutions, emerging economies need to have a stronger voice and be at the centre of this networking.
“I see India in the centre of those emerging economies, and this is something I would be delighted to discuss with Prime Minister Modi because I have a lot of hope for the role that India can play in shaping this multipolar world,” he said.
At the Summit, Guterres will be joined by senior UN leaders, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and Under-Secretary-General and UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill.
Guterres further underlined that “it is always fantastic” to go to India, “a democracy with an enormous diversity and extraordinary civilisation and culture.”
The UN chief elaborated that he is currently reading about how India, for centuries, has been a major factor in transforming the world, “starting hundreds of years before Christ and continuing for centuries, with a significant influence of Indian culture, of Indian civilisation that we can see in China, Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean."
"Even in the time of the Roman Empire, there were very strong connections with India and a very important influence of Indian culture in what is today the Mediterranean area."
“So it is always an enormous pleasure to visit India,” Guterres said.
