Former UK Prime Minister Rt Hon Rishi Sunak underscored the strengthening partnership between India and the United Kingdom in Artificial Intelligence, describing the two countries as emerging global leaders in the field. He was speaking as the Chief Guest at the event 'Beyond the New Delhi AI Summit: India and the UK Shaping the AI Age – India–UK Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence', organised by the Indian High Commission in London in association with the CII India Business Forum on Tuesday 24 March 2026.
Mr Sunak advocated a pragmatic, innovation‑first approach to AI governance, emphasising the need for deeper cooperation on technology security. He noted that both nations have increasingly been recognised on the global AI stage, citing the Stanford AI Index, which places India ahead of the UK in the global AI rankings. In a light‑hearted aside, he remarked that while India has made rapid progress in AI, the UK continues to lead in the ICC Test cricket rankings.
Highlighting the policy alignment between the two countries, Mr Sunak said that India and the UK share similar objectives and favour innovation‑friendly regulatory frameworks. He stressed that neither nation supports rigid, top‑down regulation or arbitrary data practices. He also emphasised the importance of international collaboration to ensure the safe and responsible development of emerging technologies.
Referring to the establishment of India’s AI Security Institute last year, Mr Sunak called for closer engagement with its UK counterpart. Such cooperation, he said, forms a core pillar of the UK–India Technology Security Initiative, representing a model for 21st‑century security collaboration at the technological frontier.
“India and UK share a common outlook. Neither of us want to emulate the top-down regulatory approach of the EU or indeed the ad-hoc nature of the US response. I think instead we both embrace a principle first, pragmatic, pro-innovation attitude. And even in this increasingly polarised world, I believe we can rally countries together towards this sensible proportionate approach,” said the former Prime Minister.
He added, “We both understand that AI progress and safety go hand in hand. It is by showing the world that technology is safe that we will be able to fully reap the benefits that it brings. I am very proud of our world leading AI Security Institute. And it’s superb to see Jade Lung, the Prime Minister’s AI Advisor and the Chief Technology Officer at the AI Security Institute today.
“And I was very pleased last year when India set up its own AI Security Institute. And on of the things we must foster, greater cooperation between all of these AI safety institutes. In the same way that our intelligence sharing has kept us safe from the shared terrorist threats that we face, joint working between our AI institutes can now protect us from the risk that comes with this new technology.
“The UK India Technology Security Initiative will help to facilitate this. It’s a powerful example of security cooperation between Britain and India in the 21st century…”
India’s High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency Vikram Doraiswami, echoed these sentiments, describing India’s rapid ascent as a major AI player and highlighting the vast potential for deeper cooperation with the UK. He said, “Some of the work that was showcased in UK to start with now, nearly three years ago, and some of the work that was showcased few weeks ago in India suggests to us that there is considerable opportunity for us to be able to bring together the enormous capabilities that the UK has already deployed on AI. And the enormous capabilities that India is bringing to display in AI, the opportunity that you see in India today is arising out of using India's many diversities, that is linguistic diversity, income diversity, geographical diversity.
“AI is providing solutions in terms of governance benefits, in terms of financial inclusion benefits, and in terms of benefits across key sectors where AI needs to be able to deliver like healthcare, pharma. If we are to look at AI as something that can include every citizen on our planet, then I believe India is already well positioned to make some of that difference. And if we are to be able to find ways in which we can scale that up at pace, then the UK is by far our best partner to make that…”
He concluded by saying, “And I really want us to be able to look at today's event as a scene set up for actual practical cooperation to come out by the time the London tech week…”
Other speakers on the day included Jade Leung, AI Advisor to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Pushmeet Kohli, Vice President at Google DeepMind; and Dame Wendy Hall, Regius Professor of Computer Science and Associate Vice President (International Engagement), University of Southampton.
The event also featured contributions from members of the CII India Business Forum and their counterparts in the United Kingdom.
AI Summit in New Delhi
The AI Summit held in New Delhi from 16 to 21 February 2026 built on the momentum of previous global AI summits hosted by the UK, South Korea, and France. The summit expanded the international conversation beyond safety and security to include a broader focus on inclusive, sustainable, and responsible AI deployment.
As major innovation hubs and leaders in large‑scale digital adoption, India and the United Kingdom play a critical role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence, ensuring its benefits are widely shared. Discussions at the summit explored how both countries could combine their strengths to showcase real‑world, inclusive, and responsible AI solutions, particularly in governance, public service delivery, and quality‑of‑life applications.
