India is a “very successful” emerging economy with growing 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 said Artificial Intelligence should benefit everyone and not 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 summit, being held from February 16 to 20, will be the first AI summit hosted in the Global South, guided by the principles of ‘People, Planet and Progress’.

Guterres, who will travel to India for the event, said, “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,” he added.

“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,” Guterres said.

World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, along with technology leaders such as Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, will attend the summit.

Guterres had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New York.

Highlighting his support for multipolarity, Guterres said he looks forward to discussing India’s role in a multipolar world with the country’s leadership.

"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.

Guterres said he is a “very strong advocate” of true multipolarity. He added that emerging economies should have a “higher and higher” role and build “stronger and stronger” networks of trade, technology, and international cooperation.

He cited the recent trade agreement between India and the European Union as a “good example” and said, “India is one of the most relevant emerging economies.”

"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 multipolarity, Guterres spoke about his “frustration” over the UN Security Council’s inability to address conflicts and maintain peace.

"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.

He added that for a “fair” multilateral system, emerging economies need a stronger voice and to be central to global networks.

"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 UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill.

Guterres also praised India as a democracy with “enormous diversity and extraordinary civilisation and culture.”

He added, “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. It is always an enormous pleasure to visit India.”