External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, with discussions spanning artificial intelligence, space, UN reform, energy cooperation and regional developments.
Technology emerged as one of the areas of cooperation during a trilateral meeting involving India, France and the United Arab Emirates. Jaishankar said the discussions covered collaboration in artificial intelligence, space, health sciences, energy and culture, with the three countries agreeing to continue engagement in these areas.
The three countries also reviewed progress under their existing trilateral framework and discussed developments in West Asia. The meeting highlighted the growing inclusion of emerging technologies such as AI within international cooperation frameworks, alongside areas such as space and energy.
Separately, Jaishankar participated in a meeting of the G4 grouping comprising India, Brazil, Germany and Japan. The foreign ministers discussed reform of multilateral institutions and called for a more representative and effective United Nations Security Council that reflects current global realities.
India has consistently backed changes to the composition of the Security Council, including expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories. The G4 countries have also coordinated their positions on reform of the body.
Jaishankar's UNGA engagements extended to bilateral discussions with several countries. In a meeting with Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, the two sides reviewed developments since their previous meeting in New Delhi in June, including progress in development partnership and energy cooperation.
He also met German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, with discussions covering the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and developments in the Gulf. India and Germany are also members of the G4 and cooperate across multilateral forums.
The meetings came as artificial intelligence featured more prominently in India's wider engagements during the UNGA session. At a separate meeting involving Global South countries, Jaishankar called for AI development to remain human-centric and said countries should share indigenously developed tools and frameworks where possible.
India's UNGA engagements this year are taking place against a backdrop of geopolitical conflicts, debates around the future of multilateral institutions and growing international attention on the governance and deployment of artificial intelligence.
The discussions around AI and space also indicate how emerging technologies are becoming part of broader diplomatic and strategic partnerships. For India, the meetings combined its push for reform of global institutions with efforts to expand cooperation in technology, energy, development and other sectors.
Disclaimer: This article may include information derived from interviews, press releases, public statements, research, company communications and other publicly available or third-party sources. Such material may be summarised, paraphrased or contextualised for journalistic and editorial purposes. All rights in third-party content remain with their respective owners.