Will bring concerns from global south in AI action summit: Indian envoy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit France from February 10, where he will co-chair the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit. Indian Ambassador to France Sanjeev Singla stated on Sunday that India will bring forward the concerns of the Global South during the event.

While talking to ANI, Singla said that India would bring the issues of the Global South like the AI tools to be safe, to be trustworthy.

"The significance of this visit is that India would be bringing to the table the concerns from the global south that we would like the AI tools to be safe, to be trustworthy, to be secure, that there should not be any concentration of these tools in a particular geography or in a particular set of corporate sector, and that there should be an equitable access when it comes to AI technology being developed, capability building, and how should the governors be looking forward," Singla told ANI.

Discussing India's role in AI, the Indian envoy highlighted the country's expertise in developing digital public infrastructure as a public good.

"One of the two things which India brings when it comes to AI is its expertise in developing the digital public infrastructure as a public good. And that's India's strength, we have several examples of developing that and using that, and that's something we can offer to the rest of the world," Singla stated.

On Indo-French relations, Singla emphasized the depth of the strategic partnership between the two nations.

"India and France have a deep strategic partnership. It's been there for more than 25 years. We had Prime Minister Modi as a chief guest at Bastille Day Two years ago, and then President Macron was the chief guest at our Republic Day last year. Next year, we're celebrating the year of innovation, and it's expected that President Macron would be there. So it's a deep strategic partnership we have, and as part of that partnership, we have built roadmap for the next 25 years. And as part of that roadmap we have very intense, intensive dialogs on the sweeping geopolitical changes which are happening around us, and AI, as one of those major developments, is a subject of discussion," Singla explained.

After the AI summit, there will be a bilateral component to the visit and PM Modi and President Macron will address the India-France CEOs forum. PM Modi will travel to Marseille on the evening of February 11. President Emmanuel Macron will also host a dinner in honour of PM Modi.

During his visit to France, PM Modi will also honour the sacrifices of Indian soldiers in World War I by visiting a military cemetery on February 12.

PM Modi will visit Cadarshe, the location of the international thermal nuclear experimental reactor on February 12.