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.
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 February 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’.
Mr. 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 U.S. and China.
“It is absolutely essential that AI becomes a universal instrument for the benefit of humankind,” Mr. 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.
From world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to technology honchos, including Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, the Summit is bringing together leaders, policymakers and innovators from across the world for deep-dive discussions on the way forward for AI.
Guterres had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi late last year on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar when he was in New York.
Underlining his strong advocacy for multipolarity, Mr. Guterres highlighted India’s contribution in a multipolar world, saying he looks forward to discussing this with the Indian leadership during his visit to New Delhi.
“There are two things we need to avoid in the world. We need to avoid the system in which there is total hegemony by only one power or a system in which the world is divided between two superpowers,” he said.
Mr. Guterres added that he is a “very strong advocate” of the need for true multipolarity in the world.
For true multipolarity, it is important for emerging economies to have a “higher and higher” role and to establish a “stronger and stronger” network of trade, technological and international cooperation relations.
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 organisations to be effective,” he said. Emphasising the importance of multipolarity, Mr. Guterres spoke about his “frustration” over the failure of the UN Security Council 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.
Mr. 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, Mr. 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.
Mr. 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 the main factor of transformation of the world, “starting hundreds of years before Christ and going on for centuries, with an enormous 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,” Mr. Guterres said.
Published – February 15, 2026 10:02 am IST
