And I thought it's a good idea to share with you my thoughts. Gunpowder changed the battlefield. Nuclear fission changed the meaning of human survival. Artificial intelligence is changing something even more intimate: who can enter the minds of a citizen, imitate a trusted voice, manufacture a reality calibrated to one person's fears, and do so millions and millions of times at once. Albania is not a developer of frontier models, but we are a nation that has already lived the future others are still debating, and I think a simple message is what we owe to all of you. The greatest immediate danger is not that artificial intelligence will stop obeying humanity. The greatest danger is that it will obey the wrong human beings perfectly. The challenge comes in three layers. What artificial intelligence does instead of us, what it does to us. And who gains the power to reach us? First, what it does instead of us. The public debate imagines machines that awaken, acquire ambitions and turn against their creators. But the systems confronting us today do not wake up with hatred in their hearts. They multiply ours. They have no ambition of their own. They serve the ambition of others. They carry no flag. But they can be deployed by a state. They tell no lie for their own benefit. But they can tell a billion lies on others behalf. The machine has no conscience. But it can borrow the reach of a government, the precision of a weapon and the intimacy of a friend. At the same time, the economic incentives surrounding artificial intelligence increasingly reward the replacement of human effort, rather than the enlargement of human capacity. Write the code so that I do not have to understand it. Draft the report so that I do not have to think through it. Make the judgment so that I do not have to assume responsibility for it. When success is measured only by how much work the machine removes from the human being, we may create more efficient institutions, but will have less capable people. A civilization that outsources effort may eventually outsource knowledge. A civilization that outsources knowledge may eventually outsource judgment, and the civilization that outsources judgment may discover that it also outsources responsibility. This is not inevitable. It is a choice. We can build artificial intelligence that teaches rather than merely answers, guides rather than commands, and strengthens the human being instead of making the human being dependent upon it. The question cannot be only how quickly did the machine complete the task? We must also ask, what did the human being learn? Who understood the decision? Who can challenge the decision and who answers for the decision when it is wrong? Albania became the first country to bring an artificial intelligence instrument into the architecture of government through Diella, our worldwide known artificial intelligence minister. We did not do this to transfer sovereignty from people to a machine. We did it to make public services more accessible, procedures more transparent, and the state more accountable. No machine possesses democratic legitimacy. No algorithm inherits constitutional responsibility. Behind every consequential public decision, there must remain a legal mandate, a human institution, and a name that can be called to give answers. The second layer is what artificial intelligence can do to us. Artificial intelligence inside an accountable state can reduce the distance between citizens and public services. Artificial intelligence outside accountability can eliminate the distance between a lie and the human mind. Albania experienced this directly. I am sure you must have followed or just known the so-called Flamingo Revolution, a fabricated narrative of an Israeli invasion of the Albanian coast, an invasion that never occurred, was manufactured, was personalized and delivered through voices, pages and channels citizens already trusted. One citizen received a story of national betrayal. Another received a story of religious provocation. Another received a conspiracy of foreign occupation. Different fabrications entered different emotional worlds, all serving the same strategic lie. The consequences were real. Citizens had their own reasons to protest. Don't take me wrong. But suddenly they started to protest also against a phantom enemy. Antisemitic tropes entered our public discourse for the first time ever. Don't forget, Albania is the only country in Europe that ended World War Two with more Jews than it started it. Fear became anger. Anger became mobilization and fabrication became political reality. And this is not and was not a laboratory experiment. I'm not talking to you about a science fiction movie. It was a Tuesday in Tirana, our capital city. The algorithm did not invent the objective. A human actor did.

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A moratorium observed by responsible state will not restrain hostile powers, criminal international networks or industries of manipulation. We cannot regulate ourselves into helplessness. On this essential strategic question, the president of the United States is right. We cannot stop. We must accelerate. But acceleration must have a direction. We need artificial intelligence that is verifiable, transparent and accountable, built by free societies, shared among allies and placed in the service of citizens. The answer to weaponized automation is not technological surrender. It is democratic capacity. It is sovereign capability. It is better artificial intelligence in the hands of those who remain accountable under the law of the land. Sovereign artificial intelligence does not mean isolation. It means that no nation should be helpless before systems it cannot understand, it cannot inspect, and forget about challenging them. Every country must be able to protect its language, authenticate public communications, detect coordinated manipulation, preserve evidence, and inform its citizens without depending entirely on the commercial priorities of a very distant corporation. This is why Albania, in its own microscopic scale, compared to this gigantic challenge, is building an artificial intelligence based digital mirror. The mirror will identify manipulation in real time, will test claims against authoritative information, will reveal coordinated patterns, and help citizens understand not only what they are seeing, but also how and why it has reached them. It will not tell citizens what they must think. Truth cannot be decreed by any government. It must be evidenced, sourced, tested, challenged and defended out in the open. Our mirror is not intended to become an arbiter of opinion. It is intended to become an infrastructure of transparency. It does not seek to create a ministry of truth.

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Between those who accept responsibility and those who hide behind automation. We should not fear that machines will become too human. We should fear that human beings will become invisible behind machines. Dear friends, every generation is called upon to defend freedom in the territory where freedom is most threatened. For one generation, that territory was the battlefield. For another, it was the ballot box. For ours, it's very clear, it is the human mind. Let us ensure that no citizen is left alone before an increasingly terrifying algorithmic army. Let us ensure that no small nation is forced to rent its understanding of reality from beyond its borders. Let us ensure that no democracy wakes up after an election to discover that its people exercise their freedom of choice inside the world, secretly designed for them by someone they could not see. And they are not even aware that is the force behind their choice. Artificial intelligence will not decide whether this century belongs to liberty or to manipulation. We will. The machine will obey.

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Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, imagine if nuclear weapons were developed by private companies. If stockpiles were located on company grounds and launch codes locked away in a safe in a CEO's office. It's a disturbing thought. When a technology has the power to fundamentally change the world, possibly even determine the fate of humanity, we need to ask who controls it? Who sets the rules? Who's accountable? Today, humankind faces another technological revolution that raises exactly this question. Engineers have developed a technology that does not need to be launched from a rocket or a submarine to change the course of history. I am, of course, talking about artificial intelligence, a technology with seemingly unlimited power. In the wrong hands, it can upend our economies and threaten our livelihoods. It has the potential to erode trust within our societies by spreading information that appears real, but is in fact fake. AI can endanger the infrastructure that keeps our societies running. And ultimately, it can influence decisions that determine global peace and security. At the same time, artificial intelligence holds extraordinary promise. It can accelerate scientific discovery improve health care and education all over the world, provide opportunities for economic development, overcome inequalities, and help us address challenges that no country can solve alone. Just imagine a world where, with the help of AI, we can prevent famine and cure cancer. This is precisely what makes AI so powerful, for better or for worse. But there is a critical tension. Only two major countries are home to the companies holding the vast majority of all global AI patents. That puts an enormous amount of influence in the hands of a very few. Such power carries responsibility not only towards customers, shareholders or governments, but also to humanity. And wherever power becomes global, responsibility must become global, too.

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But nowhere is the need more pressing than in the area of artificial intelligence. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that this technology serves human dignity. This is particularly urgent because technologies are already changing the foundations of our societies. AI is not waiting for our institutions to catch up. Our institutions have to catch up with AI. At the beginning of my remarks, I asked three questions who controls new technologies? Who sets the rules and who's accountable? We cannot answer them by simply trusting that those with the greatest capabilities will always act in the interest of everyone else. We need to ensure that technological progress is guided by a framework that we all have a say in shaping. That means building the capacity to understand and assess increasingly capable AI systems. It means making sure that all regions can participate in shaping the rules. And it means moving from voluntary commitments towards increasing transparency, as well as developing common standards. That is why Germany calls on UN member states to work towards common safety requirements for the most capable AI models. Providers should be required to test these models before release and report serious safety failures. These requirements should be supported by effective national and regional oversight. The industry will have to play its role in this and continue to bear a responsibility in shaping the trajectory of this technology. At the same time, we need to ensure accountability, in particular when global peace and security are potentially affected. In the course of this week, we have intensified our conversation about these questions. How we address AI together is one of the clearest tests whether we have the strength and the will to build a United Nations for today's world.

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But the fact is, it has been under attack. In recent years we have seen industrial scale assault by hostile actors on the information environment in the UK, and that of many of our allies. Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people's fears. They've used bots and fake websites, falsified newspaper articles, forged the branding of 28 British organisations, including universities and the BBC. They've amplified far right narratives, and we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 General Election. We also know that they have tried to stoke tensions and unrest in the wake of horrific events. The idea that anyone would try to use such things to their advantage is just repulsive. But it is what they do. The Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion each year on manipulating information. We're talking about an insidious campaign that reaches into people's homes and twists what they feel about their own country and community, creating a narrative of decline, stoking division and sowing despair. On top of that, we have seen cyber attacks on companies and institutions, and we know that AI will multiply the threat. We have tiptoed around this for too long. Over the last decade, we have given too much ground to those who want to run a negative, corrosive narrative about life in Britain, which bears no resemblance to reality. Well no more. We are going to face the new decade in a different way with our eyes wide open. We are going to be much prouder in standing up for our values and the rule of law. And we are going to help our people to strengthen their resilience, because faced with this information warfare, security starts in every home.

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That will be at the heart of a new ten year plan for Britain that we will bring forward later in the year. And we will put in place the architecture to stem this poisonous tide. Today, I am asking our security chiefs in the UK to begin work on a new National Centre for Information Defence, to detect, attribute and disrupt these kinds of hostile state information attacks to support and defend our democracy. I know this is a shared challenge so we are going to use our experience in the UK and the fact that we have already been through this shock, starting ten years ago, to help other countries. We have already supported Moldova to protect its elections from Russian interference. As more elections approach across Europe, more nations are grappling with these issues, some for the first time. So we're ready to share our understanding of how these actors work and how we can respond, because this is a vital task for our collective security and resilience. To overcome division and instability, we must also find new ways to bring countries together.

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In a divided world, we have the ability to bring people together and we will. We are going to step into that role, and we are going to start with one of the most significant challenges and opportunities of our age, frontier AI. AI brings together so many of the most pressing issues before us. It is already speeding up cancer diagnosis in the UK, but AI has the potential to go further, not just to help prevent and treat cancer, but to help cure it. AI will also be the key to economic growth, the route to transforming education, and it will be a vital tool to keep us safe. I am announcing today that we are developing a new AI defence partnership with the United States to protect our critical national infrastructure, but we know that AI will also be a source of disruption to the way we live and work, a multiplier of risk. We've all heard the warnings which we must heed. I know how worried people are, so we have to rise to this moment. Fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance. They must be taken by elected governments who serve working people, and we need to give people the support they need through this change, ensuring that it becomes an engine for reindustrialisation and opportunity as well. There is a lesson from the first industrial revolution, which started in northern England two centuries ago. It was a time of incredible technological progress, but for workers, the disruption brought huge suffering and exploitation. Things got a lot worse before they got better. So this time we need to get it right. I believe we're more than equal to the task. The UK has some of the best tech and AI talent anywhere in the world. And when it comes to guarding against the risks, we have our world leading AI Security Institute working hand in glove with the US and the leading labs on AI safety. But we need to go further. Building on the meeting convened by His Majesty King Charles last week, I can announce today that I am going to put AI at the heart of the UK's G20 presidency next year. I look back at how we responded to the financial crisis back in 2008. We moved quickly in the G20 and smaller groups to deliver an urgent, practical response. We came together to agree principles which everyone implemented at home in a way that was right for them. And it worked. That is the kind of approach we need now. So we will bring the right people together on the key issues, delivering on the potential of AI for good and dealing with the risks. And we will work towards agreeing a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness and to ensure that AI development is safe. This will bring together welcome initiatives from others like that proposed by Norway this week. As His Majesty said, the task before us is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity. And I want to reassure the British people that ultimately, we will do whatever is necessary to protect them, including bringing forward new laws, if that is what is needed. They need to know that we will protect their interests and we will.

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Artificial intelligence, which we've heard so many times from the podium this week, is arguably the most urgent frontier. AI offers with extraordinary potential, but its capability is advancing faster than our appreciation of its risks. There are fundamentally three categories of risk. First, the loss of control of autonomous systems. Second, that rogue actors could use AI to create bioweapons or other weapons of mass destruction or mass disruption. Third, the economic, the social the political domestic disruptions are only just emerging. But excellencies, the genie is already out of the bottle. It is too late to call for a halt, especially given the superpower rivalry and the huge financial incentives for companies who already have frontier models. But let me offer a metaphor of driving a high performance car. To drive a high performance car quickly and safely, you need a powerful engine. But equally, you need good brakes. And especially if you are going to go beyond your neighborhood or cross boundaries, you need effective shared rules, traffic lights, insurance norms of behavior, seat belts. The engine is innovation. Every one of us has to continue to invest in science, the talent, and the infrastructure that will drive AI forward. For small states, this entails especially developing our people, equipping them with the skills necessary to master and deploy AI quickly, widely, at scale and safely. The real productivity gains from AI comes not from the IT department, but from our businesses and workers having the skills, the tools and the wherewithal to engineer their work processes, workflow by workflow. That's where the cutting edge of value creation arises. But having said that, every powerful engine needs good brakes, safeguards. As the capabilities of AI advance, our safeguards must keep pace. We need rigorous testing and evaluation before deployment. We need clear limits on what autonomous systems can do and mechanisms to intervene when they behave in ways we do not intend. And since the risks from AI do not remain confined behind borders, it means we also need rules of the road that will form a shared global understanding of how we will collectively confront this challenge. Just as all of us instinctively understand traffic lights the same way, whether we're here in New York or in Beijing, Moscow or Singapore. Most importantly, human beings must ultimately remain in control and accountable. Let me give you an extreme thought experiment. Do you want the nuclear button to be in the hands of a human being or an AI? Think about that. The scarce resource today is not legal architecture or technology. It is trust. Trust that the risks will be disclosed, that testing will be comprehensive and credible, and that cooperation will be inclusive and not be used to secure unilateral advantage. The technology has already become an arena for strategic competition precisely when international cooperation is most needed. Any durable international approach must give all states a meaningful stake. Not only those who already have the most advanced models, or the deepest pockets, or the largest set of armaments. So the question is how do we build trust? We begin with the science. Even where states have differences on governance, I believe it is possible for us to work together to collectively understand the capabilities and risks of AI models, to develop comparable methods for testing and evaluation, and to report serious incidents quickly across borders. We are not starting from zero. If you carefully go through what we already have today, the UN's Independent International Scientific Panel on AI already helps to establish a common understanding based on evidence. The Global Dialogue on AI Governance can help to translate that common understanding into common objectives, and the ITU's AI for Good Global Commission brings together leaders from government, industry and international institutions to discuss challenges and to come up with practical solutions. We must urgently establish common rules and safeguards for AI, and we should build on the many ongoing discussions in different formats and groupings. And here I want to make a point: the UN, the United Nations has a critical role to play in building convergence, because this is the only apex international institution with universal membership. We must explore all options, including the idea of a UN framework Convention on AI safeguards. We may also need an international institution that can perform for AI some of the functions that currently exist for institutions that perform this function of setting common technical standards and the examples are the International Telecommunications Union, which provides all the International Atomic Energy Agency, which provides verification. Ultimately, the global commons are best protected by collective action agreed through an inclusive process, and Singapore commits to contribute where we can. This week we joined the call for greater safety and security of frontier AI models, and I'm glad that this was led by Finland and Norway. We will continue to contribute through platforms such as the Digital Pillar for the Forum of Small States, and by making our governance frameworks and testing tools available to all. But the work of building trust and laying the ground for global cooperation must begin now.

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Generations move on. But the institutions and powers created on the pretext of those alleged emergencies remain. And if for a moment we allow ourselves to believe that the lesson had been learned after so many failures, the arrival of artificial intelligence demonstrates quite something else. The printing press, the steam engine, electricity, the internet— every great technological revolution has been accompanied by fears about what it would destroy, particularly jobs. There is no doubt that this is one of the most effective ways of instilling fear in human beings, given the role of work as a means of subsistence. Take the Industrial Revolution as an example. When it began, the world was home to some 800 million human beings. If, in keeping with the Luddites and the perennial pessimists, employment had at best remained constant, then, given that the world's population has since increased more than tenfold, the global unemployment rate today would be at 90%. That is absurd, something that few of us seem to have stopped to consider, except perhaps those of us with a passion for reading Borges, who love his approach for testing an idea by taking it to its logical extreme. Ultimately, these technological advances have not only failed to produce any of the catastrophes, but in addition, all of these ended up bringing an end to what human beings were able to do. Today, we have built machines that are able to carry out tasks that only a few months ago seemed out of our reach. Where many see a threat, we see a new frontier: artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, as Donald Trump said, can double our productivity in a way that we do not yet comprehend. To invoke Adam Smith, artificial intelligence will be the pin factory of the 21st century, and much more besides. It can transform our economies, our medicine, our education, even the way we govern. That calls for prudence, yes. But prudence doesn't mean fear. Moreover, under no circumstances should fear automatically translate into obedience. Indeed, the dystopian scenarios commonly invoked to instill fear and justify state control make no sense from an economic standpoint. The answer lies with Adam Smith. Artificial intelligence, like the division of labor in the case of the pin factory, is an accelerator of productivity growth. Smith noted, however, that the division of labor is limited by the extent of the market. Growth will therefore be constrained by its counterpart in genuine demand, without fiscal deficits or spurious money creation. But that's not all. Those projects must also be financed, and that should be done with the resources of human beings. That is, their initial endowments and level of wealth, which correspond to the size of the market. Moreover, the purpose of producing more is to achieve a higher level of consumption. Yet the satisfaction generated by consumption increases at a decreasing rate, while the loss of satisfaction involved in surrendering leisure in order to produce more rises disproportionately. Consequently, the point at which the gain from greater consumption is equal to the loss of leisure brings the system to an equilibrium, leaving no room for dystopian terror. That is why, when we hear that the state should control artificial intelligence, we should remember something basic. The state is not an abstract creature. It is made up of people, officials, and bureaucrats. Granting it control over innovation means granting some people, in the best and most naive of cases, the power to limit what everyone else can create. History gives us reason to scrutinize such power carefully. For centuries, fear over tomorrow has been used as an argument for restricting freedoms today, always with the same promise: give us a part of your freedom and we will protect you from this new threat. We will apply a different principle. In the face of uncertainty, we propose determination. In the face of fear, courage. In the face of decline, ambition. And in the face of resignation, we propose optimism. That is why I tell you that when it comes to artificial intelligence, Argentina will stand at the forefront of freedom. We have the critical minerals, the energy, the talent, and the capacity to compete at every link in that value chain. And we want to become the most competitive place in the world in which to develop it, with a cutting-edge legal framework, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, limited liability for companies operating with AI agents, and tax incentives. Because artificial intelligence is not geopolitically neutral. The West must lead the development of this technology to ensure that it is consistent with our fundamental libertarian values, namely respect for life, liberty, private property, and the notion of human dignity.

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One of my favorite bands when I was growing up was Talking Heads. And little did I know at the time that David Byrne iconic song We Are On a Road to Nowhere would ring so prescient four decades later. For the first time, for the first time in the history of our species, we have created a technology that openly challenges the supremacy of the human mind as the pinnacle of our evolutionary development. I will not dwell on the positive, transformational potential of this revolutionary technology, whether in disease eradication, productivity enhancement or fighting climate change. However, it is simply impossible to ignore the fact that at present, the risks of an unchecked and unregulated advance in artificial intelligence could greatly outweigh its potential benefits. When the people developing the technology tell us openly that, left unchecked, AI could outrun our ability to control the systems, the same people admit that we only understand a tiny fraction of what goes on in these models, alarm bells should ring very loudly for all of us. In simple words, the AI bosses are telling us that they have no idea on how recursive self-improvement, the ability of AI to constantly create better versions of itself, actually works. Add to that the possibility of massive job destruction, the likelihood of unprecedented wealth creation in the hands of very few, and the impact that AI may have on the very nature of human relationships, especially for our kids, and you have all the ingredients of an unprecedented political and social upheaval. The idea that big tech companies will find some voluntary arrangement to self-regulate the development of AI is naive. It flies in the face of everything we know about the history of capitalism. The prize for the winners is simply too great to believe that benign consideration for the well-being of humanity will outweigh the relentless drive of capital to constantly seek better returns. And given that the leading AI models are being developed here in the United States, this is primarily an issue for the US government to address. Fortunately, there are precedents from which we draw lessons. In the 1940s and the 1950s, the American government heavily regulated another technology so powerful that its creators believed it could bring about either a golden age in human flourishing or the end of the world. That technology was nuclear. The same needs to happen now, and it needs to happen fast. AI companies need to be licensed based on specific requirements, adherence to human values, transparency, and most importantly, safety. In order for a new plane to fly, it has to undergo a myriad of rigorous tests approved by the regulator. The same is not true for a frontier artificial intelligence model. At the same time, I take the call by leading AI executives for a voluntary pause in the development of their models very seriously. But only, I repeat only as a temporary measure to buy time for a powerful regulatory authority to be set up. Liberal capitalism has a history of reining in market excesses, whether it was breaking up powerful monopolies, or setting rules and standards to allow the market to operate with an eye on the common good. And the same needs to happen now. And as much as the cooperation of China and the rest of the world is necessary to address this huge challenge, the fate of artificial intelligence and the impact it will have on humanity as a whole will not be decided in Brussels, in Tokyo or Brasilia. It will be decided primarily here in the United States. With great power comes great responsibility.

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Ladies and gentlemen, attacks on information integrity pose an especially troubling challenge to every society. Disinformation, foreign information manipulation and interference and the falsification of history, erode trust, restrict civic space and target journalists and human rights defenders. As a result, human rights, democracy and security suffer. This risk is further enhanced by the development of artificial intelligence. As we all know, AI has a huge potential for transformation, especially in the field of economy. Whole sectors, including those related to defence and security might get radically changed or destroyed almost overnight. As any instrument, AI is also increasingly used by those seeking to cause harm and destruction. My country, Lithuania strongly believes that the future of AI must not be determined by authoritarian control, technological coercion or the malicious use of data. We are therefore investing in trusted AI capabilities, promoting responsible AI deployment and advancing the Vilnius Convention, the world's first legally binding international treaty on artificial intelligence. By demonstrating how shared principles can be translated into concrete legal commitments, we hope to contribute significantly to the United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance. Lithuania invites the international community to unite in addressing significant legal, ethical and strategic challenges posed by artificial intelligence. With even major technology companies sending warning signals that control of AI might slip out of humanity's hands, the time is ripe for collective action. Together, we must ensure that AI serves human dignity, sustainable development, and international security rather than becoming a new instrument of inequality, manipulation or conflict. At any cost, human accountability, international law and the peace and security must be safeguarded. Ladies and gentlemen, the credibility of the United Nations depends on its ability to respond firmly to aggression, unlawful conquest, forced deportations and crimes against humanity, and also to coordinate the global response to the growth of AI.

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Artificial intelligence will transform professions, industries, and the ways in which decisions are made. Energy will be governed by a new configuration and a new logic of operation. Climate change will affect economies, agriculture, cities and the movement of people. Demographic change will reshape labour markets and social protection systems. Security will no longer depend on armies and borders, but also on power grids, data centers, cables, satellites, algorithms and trust in the information we receive every day. And yet today, as we prepare for the future, millions of people are living through war or under the threat of war. More than 100 million people have been displaced by force, more than 270 million children and young people are not in the school. This is the paradox of our time. Humanity has never possessed such immense scientific and technological capabilities, and yet it has never been more evident that technological capability does not automatically produce political wisdom. That is why the real question before this assembly is not simply how we will manage the crisis of 2026. The real question is this: what kind of international order will we leave to the generation that is entering school today? For a small size country like mine, this is not an academic question. It is a question of survival. 33 years ago, since we become a part of the United Nations, the world looked very different. The Cold War had ended. There was hope that a new era was beginning, an era in which cooperation would gradually replace confrontation. Our region, however, was living through a very different reality. Yugoslavia was disintegrating in bloodshed. Wars were being fought just beyond our borders. The fear that the violence might spread was real. And yet my country chose peace. It chose stability. It was in those circumstances on our territory that the United Nations did something it had never done before. It established the first preventive peacekeeping mission in the history of the organization. That experience left a profound lesson in our national memory, a lesson to which I will return towards the end of my speech. Peace does not begin when war ends. Peace begins when politics is wise enough to prevent war from beginning. Perhaps that is why small countries sometimes see international politics differently. Great powers have room for strategic shifts that small sized states simply do not have. For a great power, a mistaken geopolitical calculation may mean a change of strategy. For a small sized country, the same mistake can mean a lost decade. That is why we cannot afford to be indifferent to the rules, nor can we afford to believe that the rules will defend themselves. The world taking shape before us is a world of sharper competition. Power is being redistributed.

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We live in an age in which information travels around the world in seconds. Never before has humanity had access to so much knowledge, but never before has it been exposed to so much manipulation, half truths, fabricated images, propaganda, and organised disinformation. That is precisely why politics is entering a new, more difficult and more complex era. Our task is no longer simply to inform our citizens.

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It will be also shaped in laboratories, in schools, in factories, in energy grids, in data centers, and in the ability of societies to make sense of the changes that technology is bringing. Artificial intelligence is no longer a subject of the future. It is infrastructure for today, for the present. Today, the world is once again recognising the value of resilience, of reliable energy, of infrastructure, of diversified transport routes, of nearby and trusted supply chains.

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We stand at the dawn of an unprecedented technological era. Harnessed responsibly, frontier technologies and AI can accelerate sustainable development, optimize resources and bridge deep global divides. But AI also presents profound and systemic risks. Without robust governance and enforceable ethical standards and strong legal guardrails, it could deepen inequalities and become an existential challenge. We echo the growing call across industries that we need robust AI governance with enforceable standards, and we need it now. Advanced capabilities must never be allowed to pose unacceptable risks to human lives, human rights or democratic integrity. Effective governance must also address deep developmental asymmetries. We are not entering the AI era from the same starting point. Managing this revolution requires closing critical gaps in digital infrastructure, computing resources and technical expertise so that developing countries are not left behind. We need AI systems that uplift the vulnerable, strengthen national resilience, promote gender equality, and foster human centered partnerships, not exclusion and fragmentation. Put a face to the tireless migrant workers and seafarers who keep the global community afloat. Millions of migrant workers leave their homes to search for a better life, contributing immeasurably to the sustainable development of countries of origin, transit and destination. They are entitled to full human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of status, and deserve steadfast protection from trafficking and exploitation along perilous migration routes. Among them, our seafarers form an indispensable lifeline of global commerce. Nearly 90% of world trade moves by sea, supported by close to 2 million seafarers, more than 25% of whom are Filipinos. They are essential workers, yet increasingly vulnerable to conflict and attacks at sea. Just recently, an incident in the Strait of Hormuz claimed the lives of Filipino seafarers and injured many others.

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If AI is available only to a few, new divisions will appear. Entire communities may be left behind. The growing use of AI-powered weapons and autonomous systems also requires urgent attention. One principle must remain clear: machines should never be allowed to make life or death decisions on their own. Just as the international community developed rules for nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, we also need strong international frameworks for these new technologies. The United Nations can and should play a leading role in this effort. AI is not only a potential threat on the battlefield; it is already having a negative impact on society, especially in education. An entire generation of young people is being affected. Recent assessments show declining test scores across the vast majority of countries. This is a concerning trend that deserves open and serious discussion on international platforms such as the United Nations. At the same time, we should not see AI only as a risk. It can be also a tool for peace. It can help us analyze information, identify patterns, and overcome language barriers in real time. It can support better decisions, faster responses, and more effective prevention. With responsible use, proper human oversight, and good governance, we can move this technology away from the battlefield and toward diplomacy, mediation, and conflict prevention. And prevention matters. Every conflict we prevent saves lives. It protects development. It preserves human dignity. Once violence begins, every solution becomes harder, more costly, and more painful.

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Of machines, of the technology shaping all our lives. Yet the challenge of how we can manage to trust that technology and the organisations behind it is rapidly becoming the most pressing challenge of our age. The sheer spread and the sheer power, the sheer speed of artificial intelligence is mind blowing. It appears to be moving far too fast for anybody let alone governments, to manage to keep pace. It can seem, whether from the perspective of a leader, consumer or parent, to be overwhelming. There is no escaping that. This is the biggest change and the biggest challenge that any of us will experience in our lifetime. So much so that we barely have the words to describe how monumental a disruption it is proving to be. The usual phrases step change, paradigm shift just don't seem to capture the scale. And we should also be under no illusion that the currently existing rules, the traditional models of governance are in any way or manner up to grappling with the revolution that we are living through. Which is why, if we stand any chance of helping to build citizens trust in these advanced technologies, we need to begin by being honest and transparent that governments, just as individuals, we are still finding our way, that we don't have all the answers. What we do have, what we must have, is the will and determination to act and the right values to underpin those actions. And of course, it almost goes without saying that no state, however micro or mighty, has any chance of getting a grip if they try to go it alone. We only stand a chance as humanity on getting a grip on technology that seeks to ape our humanity if we collectively work together. Acknowledging that the rules need to be set globally and they need to be stuck to. Even as they develop, as the tech develops. If we are to stand any chance of securing public confidence that AI can enhance and not destroy humanity, we need a set of international rules that reflect international law. So Malta, my country, wholeheartedly supports the implementation of the global Digital Compact and wider UN efforts to strengthen international digital cooperation. To fragment is to fail, and that applies equally to fighting the new threats from the new frontline in global conflict and disruption. Cyber attacks, attacks on critical infrastructure, disinformation, the cutting of the underwater cables that connect us all to each other. These are not theoretical threats. They are constant and existential threats. For a small nation like Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean that relies on our connections to the rest of the world. They are, yes, existential threats. Tackling them must be a priority. The priority for this United Nations. We need to embrace every emerging technology that can help us fend off those threats and build our digital resilience today. The guardians of our democracy, of our freedoms are just as likely to be found coding at a keyboard as marching in uniform. Both must work in lockstep together. Security will always, of course be physical.

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But today a new source of power have emerged. A handful of private actors now control how billions of people communicate, work, transact and consume information. Artificial intelligence is changing how economies operate, how societies function, and how governments make decisions. The opportunities are enormous, but so are the risks. We must therefore ask a simple question who governs the transformation? Technology must serve humanity, never the reverse. And the answer cannot be that small number of companies or countries decide the rules for everyone else. The United Nations must continue to empower global South countries who are likely to be more greatly affected by inequitable AI development, to participate in global discussions on AI. The global South cannot simply become a destination for data centers while decisions about AI are made elsewhere. We must be partners in innovation, not merely customers and markets, and not merely destinations for investment partners involved in the decisions that will shape our future. Equitable decision making and equitable development. That means managing the enormous demands that tech infrastructure places on water, energy, land and other resources, so that the benefits of AI can be shared more broadly across the borders. Mr. president, in our hyperconnected world today, indeed, very few things stay where they begin. Technologies are rapidly shared, and they can just as rapidly disrupt. Similarly, war can also travel beyond borders. Across West Asia, escalating conflict threatens some of the world's most important routes for energy and trade, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb.

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In recent days, the debate has acquired a new sense of urgency and gravity. The message from the UN's Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, researchers in leading AI companies, and independent experts is increasingly clear: our ability to govern this technology is not keeping pace with its development. AI can bring enormous benefits to humanity, but without effective safeguards, it can also cause immense harm. We must therefore hold on to a basic principle: human beings must remain in control of technology, not become a subject to it. Technology should advance our common goals, and no system should ever operate beyond human responsibility and accountability. Nor we can allow an unchecked race for technological dominance to determine the future of AI, with the pressure to move first, pushing safety, oversight, and responsibility aside. More than 80 years ago, the Manhattan Project showed how rapidly a scientific breakthrough can transform the balance of power, and how difficult it is for politics and international rules to catch up. Artificial intelligence confronts us with a different technology and different risks, but with a similar lesson: governance that comes only after the fact may come too late. If AI is to serve humanity, it must develop within a framework of international rules. No country and no company can meet this challenge alone. We need common standards, meaningful public oversight, and clear mechanisms of accountability. The choice is not between innovation and rules.

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Technology is changing how we work, communicate, and understand the world. Climate change is reshaping economies, communities, and entire ecosystems. Conflicts are destroying lives and displacing families. Economic uncertainty is deepening inequality while progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals has stalled. These challenges are not unfolding in isolation. They are interconnected, global in scale and beyond the capacity of any one nation to address alone. They demand stronger cooperation and renewed confidence in multilateralism. Yet, excellencies, at the very moment when collective action is most urgently needed, this organization stands at a crossroads. The question before us, therefore, is whether we possess the courage, solidarity and political will to shape that change and guide our world towards peace, justice and shared prosperity. I strongly believe that most right thinking individuals would agree that the UN system has substantially delivered for all countries over the several decades of its existence. For more than 80 years, this organization has embodied humanity's highest collective aspiration that countries large and small, rich and poor can work together to prevent conflict, protect human dignity and improve the lives of their people. The United Nations provides shelter and protection to people enduring conflict, displacement, and natural disaster. It supports education healthcare, peacekeeping, elections and development in communities that might otherwise be forgotten. These achievements matter and must never be dismissed or diminished. What the United Nations does not currently do enough is deliver at the transformative level. Too often humanity and the institutions we have created to serve us have had to concentrate on managing one crisis after another, without giving enough attention to the conditions that allow them to persist. Excellencies, there is no question that managing crises is necessary. It brings relief, restores hope, and saves lives. But we cannot stop there. Our responsibility must also be to address the root causes of these problems and build systems that are fairer, stronger and better able to serve our people. The true test of this organization, therefore is not only how well we respond after people have suffered, it is also whether we can work together to prevent that suffering in the first place. This is not to dismiss what has already been achieved. It is a call for us to build on that progress, strengthen our cooperation and deliver the meaningful change that our people expect from us. A fundamental question that one must ask is, can the international system still deliver?

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No more exploitation. Excellencies, The fourth power test is technology, and above all artificial intelligence. For centuries, power came from territory. Then industry. Then finance. Today, power increasingly comes from data, computing capacity and algorithms. This new power is highly concentrated. It is advancing at extraordinary speed. And racing ahead of our ability to understand its full consequences. In 2017, AI was barely on the world’s radar. Yet in my first address to the opening of the General Assembly, I warned – and I quote: “Artificial intelligence is a game changer that can boost development and transform lives in spectacular fashion. But it may also have a dramatic impact on labour markets and, indeed, on global security and the very fabric of societies.” Unquote. Here we are, almost a decade later. AI is indeed a game changer – with enormous promise to advance medicine, accelerate scientific discovery, expand opportunity, and improve lives. Make no mistake. The danger is not technology. The danger is technology without accountability: Capability without oversight. Decision-making without transparency. And that danger cannot be minimized. The very developers building these systems are now pulling the alarm. Excellencies, The first duty of government is to protect its people. Governments must assume their responsibilities. And governments with the greatest AI capabilities have the greatest responsibilities to humanity. To establish channels for dialogue, transparency, trust and cooperation. Not despite geopolitical rivalry – but precisely because of it. At a pivotal moment during the Cold War, strategic rivals came to recognize the need to manage shared existential risks. They built mechanisms to reduce misunderstandings, manage escalation, and prevent catastrophe. Artificial intelligence demands the same clarity of purpose and sense of urgency. Those countries leading this technological revolution must share information on emerging safety risks. Cooperate on testing and evaluation. And work towards common safeguards that protect us all. But because this affects us all, global coordination is indispensable. And there is only one place where every country has a voice in shaping our common future: The United Nations. Through the Global Digital Compact, you agreed for the first time on universal principles for AI governance. Through the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, we created a platform for governments, scientists, industry leaders and civil society to work together. Through the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, we have brought together global expertise to ensure that policy is guided by evidence. Just yesterday, the AI Scientific Panel released a thematic brief on AI safety and risks from loss of human control. Building on these efforts, we must take the next steps. First, to advance the conditions for the responsible pacing of AI and the additional safeguards needed to address risks. Second, to work towards a multilateral AI Risk Management Framework, supported by credible and independent oversight. And in all our efforts, we must ensure no country is left behind. Artificial intelligence must be shaped by humanity, with humanity, and for all humanity. And as we confront the challenges ahead, let us not retreat from two fundamental principles. Let us say with one voice: Children must never become the test subjects for unregulated systems. And let us resolve that life-and-death decisions must never be surrendered to machines. Killer robots must have no place in our future. Excellencies, Peace and security. Inequality.

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Ladies and gentlemen, artificial intelligence is here to stay and to be used to assist us, as has been the case with every major technology throughout human history. Like any new technology, AI poses risks and brings challenges. But with knowledge, wisdom, and unity, we can put it to use in the service of humanity. As a co-chair of the first UN global dialogue on AI Governance alongside El Salvador, Estonia has proudly brought its knowledge and experience in service of the UN and its member states. Personally, I had the honor of becoming one of the commissioners of the AI for Good global commission this summer. For me, this role means both trust and responsibility to help ensure that AI serves people, that its use is secure and reliable, and that its benefits reach as many countries and communities as possible. As the current President of the UNICEF Executive Board, Estonia has been paying particular attention to the topic of innovation in education, notably how to advance in a responsible way safe, inclusive, and child-centered learning with the support of AI. In Estonia, we have introduced a massive education innovation program we call the AI Leap, whose aim is to assist schools, students, and teachers alike to adapt to the age of AI and foster meaningful learning. Artificial intelligence should empower teaching and learning rather than replace them. Under the auspices of the United Nations, notably through close cooperation with UNICEF, we are bringing our experience and best practice to the global scene, ensuring that AI creates equal opportunities for all humanity. We know for certain that digitalization, which has now been reinforced by AI, has enabled our small country to grow, innovate, and connect globally. This is why we have shared our experience with around 150 other countries worldwide. And this is also why Estonia has nominated a candidate for the position of Director of the ITU Development Bureau. You can trust us to work to turn connectivity into lasting capability, and to ensure that no country is left behind in the digital transformation. We hope to count on your valuable support. Ladies and gentlemen, the very fact that we are gathered here today should give us hope that we still share a commitment to the United Nations Charter and to multilateral cooperation.

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It is less about doing things for others than doing things with them. This principle takes on particular significance in the face of current technological revolutions. AI is the most obvious illustration of this. It offers considerable new possibilities in science, the economy, medicine, education, and the management of resources. But it also highlights the risk of a new divide between those who have the skills and infrastructure needed to participate in this transformation, and those who are likely to feel only its effects. We must ensure that technological progress broadens opportunities without widening the gaps. This means that as many countries and societies as possible must be able to benefit from advances in AI, develop their skills and contribute to the debate on the rules that will govern its development and use. This is exactly the aim of the Geneva AI summit, which will take place on the 21st and 22nd of June 2027 under the motto Bridging Innovation and Trust. These two concepts must go hand in hand. Innovation in which societies no longer have confidence risks being rejected. Conversely, rules that would prevent all innovation would deprive us of enormous potential. Our responsibility, therefore, is to strike a balance to enable progress and promote its benefits, while creating the conditions for the reliable and responsible development and use of these technologies. Artificial intelligence thus reminds us of a simple truth. Certain changes are so far reaching and so fast moving, that no single state can manage all of their consequences by itself.

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Australia stands for a safer world where no country dominates and no country is dominated, crises are prevented, disputes are settled through rules and dialogue, and institutions deliver outcomes. There are so many issues to confront urgently and cooperatively. Last year at this assembly, Australian parents spoke to world leaders about their campaign, resulting in our nation's social media ban for under 16. Those parents channelled their personal grief into a powerful call for global action. And the world has answered. Already, more than 20 countries are bringing in or have brought in age restrictions on social media. And with the European Community taking action, there are many more to come. More recently, our government has announced a Digital Duty of Care. Its purpose is to deliver control back into the hands of people by empowering them to determine what appears in their feed, giving them the choice. The technological development that must now be the subject of public discussion is artificial intelligence. AI can improve lives, boost growth and productivity, provide revolutionary breakthroughs in healthcare and other fields. But leaders of AI companies themselves have warned of the potential risks to allow frontier AI to develop too fast without guardrails. Recently, an artificial intelligence agent infiltrated an Australian government website. This is unacceptable, and it is why Australia has been leading the way in establishing Australian Standards for AI. Standards to ensure that AI will work and deliver for people, not the other way around. We can't ignore AI or prevent it. And it's why we joined with other nations this week to call for action to shape artificial intelligence development, rather than be passively shaped by it. Australia is a nation built on fairness and opportunity that promotes equality and respect for all people. We work to prevent conflict, protect civilians, and defend the rules that protect us all. We uphold international law, including the UN Charter, and support bold, practical reform to ensure the UN can best fulfill its mandate into the future.

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We must balance robust protection for vulnerable communities while safeguarding accountability and legitimate expression. Coordinated interventions by governments, companies, civil societies indeed, all of us are needed to push back against hate. Excellencies. While peace and security, human rights and sustainable development are perennial concerns in this hall artificial intelligence, including artificial general intelligence, has moved from the margins of our discussions to the center. Four years ago, AI was raised in this hall by only five delegations. This year, 128 delegations addressed it, and this number was more than those who spoke on climate change and human rights. Leader after leader recognized the extraordinary potential of AI to transform public services, accelerate scientific discovery advance sustainable development and expand access to knowledge while pointing out potential risks arising from it. Many framed AI as a question of governance. Who designs it, who benefits? Who bears the risks, and who is accountable when harm occurs? A delegation emphasized a principle that should guide us all. No machine possesses democratic legitimacy. No algorithm inherits constitutional responsibility. That is the right starting point. AI governance must be human centred, inclusive and attentive to the needs of developing countries. It must prevent a new divide in which a smaller number of countries and companies control the data, computing power and rules that shape everyone's future.

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They're increasingly technological. Mr. President, digital connectivity and rapid technology advancements are transforming how we live. They offer significant opportunities for big ocean sovereign states, BOSS, but they also risk creating new inequalities and dependencies. Those who benefit last from global change often bear its highest costs. We continue to live with that injustice through climate change. We cannot again be asked to adapt only after systems have been built and the rules written. For Tonga, submarine cables and satellite links are foundational infrastructures that connect our islands to global opportunities. But connectivity alone is not enough. Digital skills and secure, resilient systems must support it, and we will protect our children online and retain sovereignty over our national data. Tonga does not need to be first in artificial intelligence, quantum computing or every technology that follows. But Tonga will not simply endure global transformations. It will exercise sovereignty by helping shape the rules and norms around it. Tonga is looking beyond conventional development models. We are seeking to unlock new forms of finance through responsible valuation of our natural assets, our ocean assets, while exploring the potential of frontier technologies such as quantum science. We will form the right partnerships. We will direct innovation towards our priorities. But the Pacific's data, ocean biodiversity, critical minerals and traditional knowledge must not power the next technological revolution while returning only a fraction of their value to our people. Mr. President, from experience, Tonga knows its challenges and we will meet them with determination that has always defined our people. We also know our strengths as a BOSS. We are not asking for charity. We will do our part. We will simply ask that others do theirs. Meet the 1.5°C threshold.

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Global progress must uphold the spirit of humanity in relations among nations, safeguard their legitimate interests and respect differences in history, culture and development conditions. Third, we must proactively shape technology governance so that progress serves humanity and our common development. Science, technology, digital transformation and artificial intelligence are opening up unprecedented opportunities, but they are also presenting new challenges. The future of technology does not automatically guarantee equitability, and technological progress must help narrow divides and expand development opportunities, rather than creating new forms of dependency or new sources of conflict. We need to develop inclusive, safe, transparent and accountable principles and governance frameworks to ensure that technologies will be in service of the people while respecting national sovereignty digital sovereignty and the right to development. Developing countries must be able to participate substantively in rulemaking, receive support for infrastructure and digital capacity, and enjoy equitable access to the benefits of scientific and technological progress. Vietnam's hosting of the signing ceremony for the UN Convention Against Cybercrime in Hanoi last year reflects our desire to make substantive contributions to global digital cooperation. Vietnam stands ready to work with partners to strengthen cooperation and build capacity in preventing and combating cyber crime so that people may live safely and benefit from technological progress. We also stand ready to support international initiatives on green and digital transformation, and the development of effective governance frameworks, so that science and technology can truly become drivers of shared development.

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Mr. President, dear colleagues, the choice between force and politics is not confined to war. It extends to the economy, resources, and technology, to every sphere in which unrestrained power risks prevailing over the human person. Politics thus must once again take the lead in shaping change. We stand at the dawn of a technological revolution that is already reshaping the way we live, the way we work, produce, and make decisions. It's the artificial intelligence revolution. The great inventions of the past took centuries to transform the world. Artificial intelligence is doing so in a matter of years. Those who control these technologies will enjoy an enormous advantage over those who are left behind. The risk is that new inequalities, new dependencies, and new concentrations of power, or even new forms of domination, will emerge. Entire professions may disappear or be transformed. Falsifying and manipulating reality will become ever more easier. Automated systems operating without human oversight may produce extremely dangerous decisions. Pope Leo XIV in the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas reminded us that no algorithm can take the place of human conscience, and that any technology capable of striking without seeing the face of another person lowers the moral threshold for conflict. Italy shares this vision. But governing innovation does not mean demonizing it. Artificial intelligence can open up possibilities that today are unimaginable in medicine, for example, research, education, manufacturing, and environmental protection. Every major technological advance has generated fears, but it has also created opportunities and, over time, greater prosperity. Turning back is neither possible nor desirable, but neither can we hand over our future to technology without rules. We do not need bureaucratic cages that can only be respected by some. We need a balance between transparency, oversight, security, and the protection of intellectual property.

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AI can be a powerful accelerator of human progress; therefore, we must not close the door to innovation. At the same time, we must address AI’s potential harms, including job losses and widening of the digital divide. We cannot also rule out the possibility that AI, particularly artificial general intelligence, or AGI, could affect human survival. That demands prudent and reliable guardrails, based on scientific evidence, to safeguard the global public interest, while allowing innovation to go forward. Governments must remain at the heart of this endeavour. But governments do not have a monopoly on expertise, capital, technology, innovation or influence. Much of that experience and capacity already lies with businesses, innovators, civil society and others. We need to unlock the doors of the United Nations to those developing and using AI. Not someday. Now. We are falling further behind each day. AI differs from earlier proliferation challenges in one critical respect: it is already embedded in nearly every facet of our lives, in our water systems, electricity grids, health records, economies and militaries. We cannot allow an arms race for control of AI to carry us over the precipice. There is clear precedent for United Nations engagement with world-changing developments. We did so on nuclear non-proliferation; through the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer; and with the United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning in 2005. We need experts, innovators, industry leaders, scientists, civil society, and academia all working together on the issues of our times. (PAUSE) Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, We have an opportunity in this session to show that we have learned from what works; that we are prepared to confront what does not; and that we can build a United Nations capable not simply of surviving change, but of shaping it. To seize that opportunity, we must be realistic enough to confront hard truths, bold enough to reform, and inclusive enough to bring the right people to the table.

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The way we see it, climate justice is not about pitting development and transition against one another. It's about allowing developing countries to build a growth model that's more resilient, inclusive and sustainable. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we must also prepare for the next great transformation, that of artificial intelligence AI, which could become one of the greatest accelerators of human development. AI can broaden access to knowledge, improve health systems, support agricultural workers, and make state administrations more efficient. Having said that, AI can also amplify or exacerbate existing divides. If Africa was to solely consume technologies designed and controlled outside the continent, a new form of dependence could emerge linked to data infrastructure, computing power and critical technologies. We must avoid this scenario. Therefore, Benin is in favour of international AI governance that's inclusive, responsible and development oriented. Africa should not just be a market for frontier technologies, it should also be a platform for design, innovation and production. This is the prerequisite for AI to become not a new driver of divisions, but a tool for achieving emancipation, progress and shared development. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, trust in international institutions is also linked to the trust people bestow upon their own institutions. For its part, Benin is continuing the process of consolidating our institutions and our democratic framework with full respect for our Constitution and our legal order. We deem stability, public responsibility and citizen participation, we deem them essential preconditions for sustainable development. Our experience confirms our conviction. Robust institutions are one of the pillars of peace infrastructure.

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Artificial intelligence and digital technologies must serve human development, strengthen local technical capacities and respect national development priorities. Mr. president, as an active member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Lao PDR reaffirmed that a united, integrated ASEAN serve as a cornerstone of regional peace and multilateral stability. We remain steadfast in supporting ASEAN centrality within the evolving regional architecture, where ASEAN led mechanisms foster trust and practical cooperation. This year carries special significance as we begin implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, alongside its strategic plans across the three community pillars. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, a foundational framework, whose core principle of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect remain fully relevant today. ASEAN remains the bedrock of the Lao PDR regional engagement. Mr. President, despite severe external economic shocks and natural disasters, the Lao economy continues its steady recovery through strong national ownership and strategic international partnership.

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This assembly also calls on us to manage transformation. No one here needs me to tell them what the great transformation of our age is. Every great era in human history has had its driving force. Steam powered the Industrial Revolution. The transistor powered the digital age. No force in our time is as profound as artificial intelligence. We can already see its power in warfare, in the economy, and in our everyday lives. Unlike tools that merely transmitted what we said, these systems are part and parcel of the decisions that we make. The potential is immense. Paraguay today feeds 100 million people. And with this tool, it could feed 1 billion. It could enable us to cover, in years, distances that once took generations. This transformation cannot be held back. And no one should be left out of it. However, we're not blind to the risks. But we cannot allow fear to guide us. Like a child, artificial intelligence repeats what it has learned from those who trained it. If it has learned to deny freedom, then that lesson will not arrive in the form of a law that we can debate. It will arrive covert, in some minor task, in some action that no one regards as a decision. Democracy endures, provided that the decisions that govern us can be traced back to the will of those who must live with their consequences. When that thread is severed, the will of the people risks being replaced without ever having been defeated. Protecting that delicate thread doesn't mean forgoing the benefits. It means refusing to ignore the risk that truly matters. Artificial intelligence must serve human dignity and not replace it. As His Holiness the Pope reminds us in the recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the values embedded in these systems are not a technical constraint. They are a choice made by those who trained them. The future demands that the choice be freedom, democracy, and equality before the law, and that those who make that choice be held accountable for it. It may seem that, so far, I have only talked about an endless series of problems and challenges.

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One of the most urgent threats today is the loss of human control over weapons. Every Austrian, and I believe maybe a lot of people here, knows the Terminator movies about a machine sent to kill humans. This killer robot was played by a famous Austrian born Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the movies, Skynet learns to choose its own targets and starts a war. Well, in 1984, this was science fiction. Today it is not fiction anymore. Today, weapons with increasing autonomy are already used on the battlefield. The direction is clear. Machines are gaining more freedom to find and strike targets. But a machine cannot understand surrender nor mercy. It cannot face a court or answer for a death. It must never have the final say over who lives and who dies. We therefore need international rules for autonomous weapons built around one clear principle no machine may decide to take a human life. Some will say that agreement is impossible when technology moves so quickly and major powers distrust one another. History says otherwise. Imagine this hall in December 1953.

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First, the Global AI Universal Basic Society. The Artificial Intelligence revolution is both a massive opportunity and a crisis for humanity. While it can be a core driver of new prosperity and sustainable development, it will only deepen inequality and imbalance unless we are properly prepared for it. Younger people around the world in particular, are facing growing anxiety about their employment and their future, as the pace of change becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with. This boils down to a clear direction for the new era we seek to build. It is the AI Universal Basic Society where everyone can benefit from technological progress. The Republic of Korea is pursuing an AI transformation that will ensure stronger protection of human fundamental rights across fields such as Social Security, labor, housing and culture, beginning with our AI Universal Basic Health Program. And I believe this resonates with the core principle of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which prioritizes the guiding principle of leaving no one behind. It also harnesses the AI revolution as a new driver to accelerate the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The Republic of Korea will build the Global AI Hub platform to share this vision with the international community in collaboration with international organizations, multilateral development banks, the business sector, and academia. The Republic of Korea envisions a global AI Universal Basic Society where no country or individual is left out from access to the basic benefits of AI development.

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Malawi welcomed the transformative potential for AI as an expression of human ingenuity, and as an increasingly important tool for creating sustainable development. For developing countries, including Malawi, AI offers opportunities to strengthen agricultural productivity and food security, improve healthcare and education, enhance climate resilience and disaster preparedness, expand financial inclusion and improve the efficiency of public service. Malawi believes, however, that technological advancements must remain human centred. Artificial intelligence should complement and enhance human capabilities rather than diminish the indispensable role of people in shaping their own development. At the same time, Malawi recognises that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence presents significant challenges, particularly for developing economies with fragile labour markets and limited technological infrastructure. Automation could disrupt employment and widen existing inequality, while unequal access to computing capacity, data, digital infrastructure skills and financing risks, creating a new technological divide between and within countries. Malawi, therefore, calls upon the United Nations to continue promoting an inclusive, ethical and development oriented global framework for AI governance, one that safeguards human dignity and employment, builds the technological capacities of developing countries, facilitates equitable access to AI technologies, and ensures that the benefits of innovation contribute directly to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. No country should be left behind in the emerging AI driven global economy.

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relationships with the states and institutions that benefited from these systems. Mr. president, technology is the new form of power that is rapidly transforming the world. And while it offers enormous opportunities for mankind, it can also create a new hierarchy in which a small number of corporations and powerful states control the systems on which the rest of humanity depends. We must ensure that artificial intelligence does not widen the gap between the powerful and the vulnerable. Technology must strengthen aspirations, not quietly erode them. Saint Lucia, therefore, calls for strong global standards on data protection, privacy and artificial intelligence; equitable access to digital infrastructure, cyber security and affordable connectivity; fair technology transfer; transparent algorithms; protection from surveillance, disinformation and cyber exploitation; and meaningful participation for small states in shaping global digital rules. The digital future must not be owned by a few. It must be governed for the benefit of all. Managing transformation means ensuring that no nation is left powerless in the face of technological change. Mr. president, my country, Saint Lucia, is a small, open and vulnerable state, but our people refuse to impose limits on their aspirations. History has blessed us with unimaginable natural beauty, ambitious, friendly people, and two Nobel laureates.

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Critical minerals must become a foundation for inclusive development with a value addition and beneficiation at source, along with the development of regional value chains being highly prioritized. Zimbabwe has more than 40 critical and rare earth minerals, and we have made bold decisions towards a mutually beneficial extractive industry. This has seen us dispatch the first export of locally produced lithium sulfate during the second quarter of the year, demonstrating that remaining value added resource retaining value at the source is possible for shared prosperity. Harnessing emerging technologies for national development is a key priority for our industrialisation agenda. Zimbabwe's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2026 to 2030 promotes human centred, ethical and responsible innovation. Artificial intelligence must narrow development gaps while its military use, including in nuclear command and control, must remain subject to human judgment, accountability and international law. Regrettably, however, my country's national development initiatives have continued to be undermined by unilateral coercive measures imposed by some Western countries. We call for their immediate and unconditional removal. I reiterate Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none unless you choose to be an enemy.

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This reflects our responsibility towards the region and the world. In light of the rapid developments the world is witnessing in the field of artificial intelligence, the Kingdom stresses the importance of harnessing these technologies in the service of humanity and development, and enhancing international cooperation to ensure the responsible use. The Kingdom has taken a leading role in establishing the international network of artificial intelligence capacity building centres, one of the recommendations emanating from the Pact for the Future. The Kingdom also hosts the International Centre for Research and Ethics in AI in Riyadh under the auspices of Unesco, thereby strengthening international cooperation in this field and contributing to the consolidation of ethical principles governing the development and use of AI applications. In conclusion, our world today is in need of the greatest possible measure of wisdom, responsibility and cooperation. The challenges confronting us cannot be addressed by any state on its own. Security can only be consolidated and sustained through adherence to the principles upon which the UN Charter is founded, as well as through a respect for international law.

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Access to our minerals will be contingent upon mandatory value generation in our territory, technology transfer and the supply of strategic national sectors. Mr. president, we are living through unprecedented technological revolution with great risks and opportunities. It would be an unforgivable historical omission not to address the challenge of regulating the big techs and artificial intelligence. A handful of techno-oligarchs want to resurrect a version of digital ultra liberalism without rules or transparency. They are promoting a race with no ethical boundaries, bypassing the United Nations and the Scientific panel on Artificial Intelligence. As Pope Leo warned, decisions about technology should, quote, should never be separated from awareness and responsibility. End of quote. Companies that are aware of the risks of their products are transferring the impossible task of confronting algorithms to the families. The billion dollar betting industry turns addiction into profit. Its exponential dissemination is increasing debt levels and destroying homes. Brazil will not tolerate this business model. We passed one of the most advanced pieces of legislation in the world to protect children, adolescents and women in the digital environment. We will ensure fair compensation for artists, musicians and audiovisual content creators. We will not give in to pressure from multinationals that want to privatize our PIX, a free public payment infrastructure that has made financial inclusion a reality for millions of Brazilians. Ladies and gentlemen, the Sustainable Development Goals are currently under attack from reactionary forces that wish to normalize injustices.

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The control of these powerful tools must not remain in the hands of a select few. They must serve humanity, not the other way around. In particular, the development of lethal autonomous weapon system raises profound moral questions. In this critical domain, Pope Leo provides clear criteria for discernment. The first concerns personal responsibility. The second pertains to the moral time frame for making judgments. The third is the protection of civilians. These criteria give rise to certain non-negotiable requirements. First of all, systems used in war setting must guarantee the possibility of retracing and reconstructing decision making processes so that accountability and blame are not collapsed into the machine. Second, the decision to use lethal force cannot be delegated to opaque or automated processes, but must remain under effective, self-aware, and responsible human control. Finally, it is imperative to establish a shared framework also at the international level in order to curb the technological arms race and ensure robust protection for civilians and the infrastructures necessary for their survival. For some years now, the world has spiraled into violence that has progressively spread and intensified, continually opening up new theatres of war. The Holy See strongly emphasized the urgent need for an immediate and total cessation of hostility as a prerequisite for any serious engagement in restoring and building the future.

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Lastly, preparing for the future and ensuring it benefits everyone means mastering technological changes. Artificial intelligence is creating enormous opportunities for human development, but it also entails genuine risks. The Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which was held this year in Geneva, confirmed this. These technologies must remain at the service of humanity, and the United Nations cannot remain a spectator. Monaco supports the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and a new normative framework on AI based on law and shared ethical principles, respecting human rights and being accessible to all states. Finally, the principality calls for strengthened cooperation to deal with cyber threats and for inclusive transitions both within states and within societies. President. When he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, the great French writer Albert Camus defined the task of his generation thus not to reform the world, but perhaps even greater to prevent the world from destroying itself. Today, that is our task preventing the world from destroying itself, preventing law from being destroyed, destroyed by force, preventing trust, being destroyed by mistrust, and preventing the planet from being destroyed under the weight of our negligence.

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President, this week has also seen an intense debate on harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence. But perhaps what we are discovering in these conversations are our own limits to understanding what the potential might be. Reporting from the most powerful and well capitalised AI companies tell us that we are on a precipice, either of a technology fuelled utopia or an apocalypse. Whether we achieve one or the other, unfortunately has been treated as a secondary priority to the AI race, one that has no clear finish line and, for that matter, a dubious prize. Liechtenstein supports the regulation of artificial intelligence. Unless we have a clear understanding of the methods, processes and purposes of the huge variety of AI systems, how can we risk the consequences to human rights, to our environment, to the long term capacities for our critical thinking, and ultimately, to the future of the human species? We are already seeing the impacts on civilians as armed forces increasingly integrate AI capabilities into their targeting systems in warfare. AI tools have to be made for humanity, lest we become the source material for AI systems to use, or merely the victims in its crosshairs.

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In this regard, the Dushanbe Water Process can help sustain that momentum beyond 2028, connecting global commitments with national and regional action. Our success will be measured by the commitments we deliver. Excellencies, we must also prepare for a world that is changing before our eyes. Artificial intelligence is transforming our economies, our societies, and the way we approach development. As the Secretary General recently reminded us, used well and shared widely, AI could compress decades of development into years. This is the opportunity before us. AI should not become another source of division. It should become a force for development opportunity and reducing inequality. Last year, at the initiative of Tajikistan, the General Assembly adopted the resolution on the role of artificial intelligence in creating new opportunities for sustainable development in Central Asia. This year, we took another step forward. On August 31st, the General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, also at the initiative of Tajikistan.

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The absence of an effective international legal framework leaves the way open for all of these abuses to arise, posing a direct threat to the security of our state and the fundamental rights of our citizens. Having already suffered from these various pernicious effects, Gabon has had to introduce more appropriate and secure regulation of the digital and artificial intelligence sectors through temporary and proportionate measures, motivated solely by the imperative of protecting our citizens. Our aim remains to build an open and secure digital ecosystem that respects freedoms and is fully consistent with our international commitments. Mr. president, if the United Nations is to deliver results for all, it cannot ignore historical debts.

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Mr. president, as we work to correct the imbalances inherited from the last century, we must not allow them to be reproduced in the future. Artificial intelligence opens boundless horizons for growth, knowledge, innovation and improved services. Yet it may also create a vast new divide and power linked to computing capacity, data models skills and financing. Therefore managing this transformation requires the establishment of governance frameworks for artificial intelligence and emerging technologies on the basis that technology is a global public benefit and not an exclusive privilege enjoyed by a limited number of states or corporations. Egypt supports the role of the United Nations and a global dialogue to develop principles that balance innovation and responsibility, protect privacy, guarantee transparency, accountability, non-discrimination, human oversight, respect for international law, technology and knowledge transfer, financing of digital infrastructure and skills development. This would enable developing countries to become producers and developers of technology, rather than merely being markets for its consumption. Artificial intelligence should also reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world Arab and African languages and communities should receive fair representation and data and models. Egypt has launched the second edition of its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025 2030, grounded in its firm conviction that the safe and responsible use of technology and the development of national capacities are inseparable requirements. The same principle governs the green transition. There can be no just transition if ambition is dissociated from fair implementation.

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If vulnerability can be measured, it must be considered. Mr. President, the next great divide between nations must not be digital. Artificial intelligence offers extraordinary possibilities. Saint Kitts and Nevis intends to participate, but we must ask who will shape this new age, and who will live with decisions made elsewhere. At the end of 2025, some 2.2 billion people remain offline. But the AI divide also concerns computing power, data research, skills, energy, cybersecurity, and capital. With the global AI market projected to reach US$4.8 trillion by 2033, developing countries cannot simply consume technologies designed and governed elsewhere. We must have a place where AI's future is decided. Saint Kitts and Nevis welcomes the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. Inclusion must lead to capability. Developing countries need affordable computing power, infrastructure, skills, and safeguards for privacy, data sovereignty, cybersecurity, and rights. Mr. President, at home, we are advancing a whole-of-government technological strategy, securing digital identity and digital public services. Regionally, the Caribbean AI Task Force supports cooperation and governance, innovation, and responsible adoption. Mr. President, artificial intelligence is already transforming the world. Saint Kitts and Nevis chooses to help shape that transformation. As SIDS, we know a simple truth: alone we are small.

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The time has come to back this resolution with practical results. Esteemed President, dear participants, today humanity stands on the brink of another massive transformation. I speak of artificial intelligence, but one question remains unanswered: does technology serve humankind, or are we forced to adapt to technology? However, the principle must be clear: humanity and its destiny must be at the heart of technological progress. Artificial intelligence must be inseparable from human rights, security, equal opportunity, and accountability. Technological progress should not force people to change, but rather serve to improve human life. Uzbekistan advocates strengthening international dialogue in this regard. Dear friends, the power is not above the law.

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Multilateralism equipped to address the defining challenges of today peace, the climate emergency, economic insecurity and artificial intelligence. On artificial intelligence and its governance, we need an accountable, transparent and regulated architecture. We need an AI that serves humanity, not controls it. We must always be in the driving seat, setting a safe and secure pace of innovation and development. The artificial intelligence industry cannot be regulated by a few major global companies, and the United Nations must play a central role in setting global standards through the United Nations Global Digital Compact, the Independent International Scientific Panel, and the Global Dialogue on AI governance. Excellencies, the United Nations must remain at the center of the multilateral system. The United Nations is under pressure from geopolitical polarization, financial constraints, and institutional shortcomings.

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While we discuss how to modernize institutions created in 1945, we're seeing the emergence of the most powerful technology that humankind has ever known, and no one's governing it. Artificial intelligence is not only a technical matter that we can delegate to experts, it is an ethical challenge, and it's a geopolitical issue. We reject the false dilemma between innovation and responsibility. We don't believe that going quicker is always better, and neither are we going to turn our back on opportunities as a result of fear. For our country, AI can amount to and mean growth of between 10% and 20%. As such, we are choosing the path that we call one of responsible pace. That means making progress as quickly as our ability to administer progress allows. We have regulations that make things possible that do not hamper progress. We have investment in talent and in energy, and we have rigorous assessments of everything that's happening. We want to lead from a position of knowledge and not fear. And I say this in this room for one reason. The United Nations must be able to bring humankind together to discuss a technology that will decide the fate of this century. Nothing can simply be resolved by an algorithm. Mr. president, allow me to go back to the beginning. The president that I talked about, that spoke here 74 years ago, spoke on behalf of his people and discarded ideological differences.

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The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now hereinafter officially called superintelligence, changing the name, and that the use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake. And it is not fake. It's actually amazing. But we have to be careful. In fact, it is exactly the opposite of what it purports. From this point forward, all of United States documents and hopefully the world will be changed to use the much more accurate term super as opposed to artificial. So it's superintelligence. In other words, welcome to the new world of superintelligence — SI. Let's see if that goes. It sounds much better. It is much better, and it's much more accurate. Let's see if I have any power. Maybe I do and maybe I don't. We're going to find out pretty soon. Superintelligence. Every major new technology brings challenges, and superintelligence is no exception. Yet the very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming, a name since reborn to climate change because the planet was cooling, not warming, and nobody was dead. These are the same people that are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster. Same group of people. This is the group that came up with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, the Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine hoax, climate change, open borders. Whoever wins AI, you have to remember this. And now I say, whoever wins SI, whoever wins superintelligence wins. That's the group that wins. And we're leading now over China by a lot and everyone else. And we're going to keep it that way. We're going to keep it very, very straight and very strong. I'm not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, many say bigger than the Industrial Revolution or the internet itself. And we will be very careful. And that's why we have a Department of Justice that we've already used it having to do with this very subject and used it very powerfully. Everything worked out very well and very quickly. And other law enforcement bodies that will rein things in if we have to do that. But we will only encourage superintelligence. We're going to encourage it, not rein it in. We're going to watch it closely through the Department of Justice. The United States leads the world in superintelligence and will continue to do so safely and responsibly. Americans have never been a nation that retreats from a frontier or shrinks from a challenge, no matter how great or how daunting that challenge may be.

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Both are priorities during our membership in the Security Council. No discussion of development today is complete without addressing the technology that is reshaping that development. From this podium two years ago, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister called for the adoption of an international treaty governing the development of artificial intelligence. It would ensure that this technology contributes to peace rather than exacerbating conflict. Since then, the General Assembly has taken positive steps. However, dialogue can bring positions closer, but it is not a step that creates obligations. The aim is not to halt a technology that no one has the power to halt, but to ensure that its growth is surrounded by safeguards, just as the international community surrounded nuclear energy with safeguards that preserved its benefits without preventing it. This technology knows no borders. A safeguard adopted by a single state is not a safeguard, just as a rule that applies in a single strait is not a rule. Therefore, we renew our call for a binding international framework to ensure that this technology becomes a driver of innovation rather than division. And this, in our view, is what it means to manage the transformation that you chose as a theme of this session.

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However, without a genuine return to the principles on which we have already agreed, I do not expect progress in terms of this organization's concrete results. Excellencies, peace is not the only test of our ability to manage change. We are in the midst of a technological transformation whose full reach we are only beginning to understand. Artificial intelligence is already changing the economy, education, medicine, security, the labor market, and the way states function. It can bring enormous benefits to humanity. It can also deepen existing inequalities, enable new forms of manipulation, and create security risks that we could not even have imagined only a few years ago. During our leadership cycle in the Global Partnership of Artificial Intelligence, which Serbia chaired in 2025, one of our priorities was to ensure that technological progress remained connected with security, human rights, the rule of law, accountability, and bridging the digital divide. The Belgrade Ministerial Declaration received the support of 44 member states and the European Union and affirmed the need for safe, sustainable, and human-centered artificial intelligence. The more powerful technology becomes, the more responsible those who manage it must be. We may have cutting-edge algorithms, quantum computers, unmanned systems, and artificial intelligence capable of processing in a matter of seconds what once took us years. But if, at the same time, we allow the fundamental rules of the international order to be applied selectively, technological progress will not make the world safer. It will merely make us more technologically advanced in a world that is becoming politically less predictable.

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At home, we are investing in computing capacity, digital infrastructure and AI skills. We are forging new trusted partnership on AI governance and emerging technologies, and we have recently adopted law on artificial intelligence and new digital code. But without effective governance at all levels, it will also deepen inequality, create new security risks, as we have seen very recently, and widen the digital divide. We also should not let ethical norms fall behind this rapid evolution. AI must remain human centered, safe and subject to meaningful human oversight. These risks are particularly serious in the military domain, where the use of AI in warfare and cyber operations could have far reaching consequences for international stability. Kazakhstan supports stronger international rules and cooperation, including through the United Nations Global Mechanism on ICT security and UN Global Dialogue on AI governance. At the regional level, we invite partners to engage with the UN ESCAP Asia-Pacific Digital Solutions Centre in Almaty city as a platform for sharing expertise and advancing regional digital cooperation.

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Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are already transforming our way of life and the way in which we work. The enthusiasm they give rise to also goes hand in hand with the very real concerns, the current debates about the most extreme risks of AI remind us that technological progress cannot be divorced from responsibility. As we confront these transformations, we should endow our young people with the means to develop their critical thinking skills and their creativity. And this is exactly what education is supposed to do transmit knowledge and competencies, but also to teach young people to call things into question, to open up to others and to shoulder your responsibilities. Against this backdrop, I believe that we should have one guiding principle. Human beings should be at the heart of all of our decision making. We must protect the rights, security, and the well-being of all. We should also listen to young people, ask them what we can build, working hand in hand.

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Excellencies, the digital revolution gives the issue in turn an entirely new dimension. Billions of people now consult maps every day on their phones, their computers and digital platforms. Children, for example, discover the world through the digital maps. The businessmen make decisions using cartographic data. The government also rely on spatial information and artificial intelligence systems increasingly interpret our planets through digital data and cartographic representation. The question before us, therefore, is no longer only about a printed maps, it's about the digital image of our planet that we are transmitting to the generation of tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, we also want correct the map to become a dialogue between generations. We want young people to have the opportunity to look at our planet with a fresh eyes. We want schools, universities and research institutions to become places where the representation of our world can be studied and understood.

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Artificial intelligence is changing economies and societies. Digital technologies are changing the way governments operate. Energy systems are changing. Global trade is changing. Demographic patterns are changing, and climate change is transforming the physical environment in which many of our societies exist. The question before us is not whether transformation will occur. It will. The question is who will shape the transformation and who will benefit from it? For Vanuatu, the answer must be clear transformation must not create a new hierarchy between those who possess technology, capital and influence, and those who merely experience the consequences. We need an international system in which developing countries and small states are participants in transformation, not simply consumers of decisions made elsewhere. Artificial intelligence provides one example. AI offers enormous opportunities for education, health care, public administration, agriculture, climate forecasting, and economic development. But without appropriate governance, it could also deepen existing inequalities. Small states need access to technology. We need digital infrastructure. We need skills and capacity. We need access to data and computing. And we need a meaningful voice in establishing the international norms that govern that governance. Emerging technologies. The digital future must not become another form of dependency. Mr. president, there is a tendency to describe small states primarily in terms of our vulnerabilities. We are small. We are geographically dispersed. We are economically vulnerable. We have limited institutional capacity. We depend on international markets. We depend on development partners. We depend on international shipping. We depend on imported fuel, food and manufactured goods. And yes, in many respects we are dependent on the international system. But dependence must not be confused with powerlessness. Small states can lead. Indeed, history has shown that some of the most important developments in international law and global governance have emerged, because small and vulnerable states refuse to remain silent.

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Poorly governed, it can deepen inequality, expose critical systems, displace workers and leave developing countries dependent on technologies and rules designed elsewhere. National legislation alone cannot govern a technology that crosses every border. These dangers are real, but danger is not destiny. We are not without answers.

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Because the question before us is not whether any new inequalities may arise. It is whether the old ones will be written into the code, into who owns the data, who sets the standards, who captures the value, and who once more is left to carry the cost. We do not have to accept that outcome. A development framework is a choice.

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But Taiwan's contribution does not stop at the borders of our small and steadfast allies. She sits at the heart of global supply chains. She produced the most advanced semiconductors in the world. She is a serious presence in artificial intelligence and the other technologies that will shape this century, and she has said plainly that she is ready to share that expertise and those resources with the wider international community.

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Excellencies. We refuse to surrender our technological future to paranoia. An invention can be destructive or beneficial depending on the purpose it serves and the judgment of those who use it. A knife can take life in the hands of an assailant and can save one in the hands of a surgeon. We can deploy artificial intelligence to wage war or use it to transform healthcare, education agriculture, governance, and economic productivity. Much of the anxiety surrounding AI reflects the distrust we have allowed to grow amongst us. Nigeria is investing in digital public infrastructure, broadband connectivity, innovation ecosystems, research institutions, and technology entrepreneurship. We invite the world to work with our inventive, resourceful and enterprising young people to direct AI towards humanity's advancement rather than its destruction.

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Technology is moving faster than regulation almost everywhere, and artificial intelligence is widening that gap. Small countries can have a natural edge here. We want Moldova to become a place where emerging technologies can be tested responsibly through regulatory sandboxes, where regulators learn alongside companies, rules adjust with evidence and good ideas do not wait years to reach the real economy. When an entrepreneur arrives with a technology for which the law has not caught up yet, the answer should not simply be there is no rule for this. It should be: let us find a safe way to test it. We may never have the deepest pools of capital or the largest GPU clusters, but we can build better rules and be more agile.

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It opens extraordinary opportunities for scientific progress, medicine, education, and the fight against climate change. Yet it also compels us to ask a question that no previous generation has had to face with such urgency: how can we ensure that technological progress remains human progress? This is the debate that truly lies before us. It is not a debate about machines; it is a debate about ourselves. We must ensure that artificial intelligence expands opportunities rather than inequalities, that it protects human rights rather than putting them at risk, that it strengthens our democracies rather than weakening them, and that it preserves the cultural and linguistic diversity that is one of humanity's most valuable heritages. For a country such as Andorra, this last aspect is particularly relevant. The digital revolution must not lead to cultural homogenization that condemns languages with fewer speakers to invisibility. That is why we advocate for a global digital governance that fully incorporates respect for multilingualism, cultural diversity, and equal access to knowledge.

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As the Secretary-General said in his speech, the danger is not technology. The danger is technology without accountability. I agree. Colleagues, we should not panic but we must be determined. There is nothing inevitable in this development. Artificial intelligence is developed by humans and must remain under human direction, oversight and control. It is becoming an integral part of our infrastructure, a part of almost all aspects of society and economy. And as we have done so many times before, we must maximise the positive benefits of emerging technologies while curbing its darker potentials. This week, Finland and Norway are appealing to businesses, governments and the UN alike to cooperate for responsible management of the opportunities and the risks of artificial intelligence. Defence of essential human values goes well beyond regulating technology. For decades we saw a growth in democratic governance, respect for the rule of law and respect for human rights. Sadly, this trend has now turned. Democratic backsliding, polarisation and weakening our democratic shields challenges many of our past achievements.

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This is about the lives of many, many people in many countries. And this is about, finally, slowing down the rapid development of weapons for killing, a process that has continued throughout this war and has already become a global threat. We need to slow it down before we reach the next stage. Because as early as next year, there is already a real possibility that AI, not only people, will begin to decide what happens on the battlefield. And we need peace before we reach that point. Ladies and gentlemen, Russia's leader, patient zero, the man from whom this war began and spread into the world, becoming the largest war in Europe since World War II, will inevitably leave this world. But the longer Putin is able to wage war, the more evil he will leave behind in this world. Today, nothing in war works the same way it did, by the way, in 2022, except the courage of people. Everything has changed. And who knows whether courage will still work the same way in the future. If you listen to some of the biggest believers in the development of AI, they say today AI still remains mostly digital, but one day AI will move from the digital world to shaping atoms. And when that happens, we had better be at peace.

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We advocate stronger links between efforts to combat desertification, food security initiatives, water management, conflict prevention, and resilience building. Mr. president, the world is experiencing extraordinary technological advances, including generative artificial intelligence. It is something that comes up in debate after debate. AI offers enormous opportunities, and we acknowledge that, but also significant risks. We must be lucid here. We must not simply consume AI technology. We must master it, adapt it to our realities, and contribute to its development. This requires, uh, defining and creating appropriate legal and ethical frameworks for us. Digital and technological sovereignty has become an essential dimension of national sovereignty. We must invest in skills, in research, in innovation in infrastructure, so that young people can participate fully in this transformation. For this reason, the head of state of the Republic of Mali, Assimi Goita, has established Mali's Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to promote our country's digital sovereignty. On the issue of international migration, Mali, which is a country of origin, transit and destination at the same time, Mali therefore reaffirms its attachment to international cooperation and considers human mobility is a benefit for humanity.

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We are entering a new era of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and science. Technology is advancing very rapidly, but its opportunities are still not equally accessible to all. Bangladesh's large young population and growing digital capabilities have created new possibilities for us. To harness these opportunities, access to advanced technology, knowledge and research must be brought within everyone's reach. We do not want today's digital divide to become tomorrow's artificial intelligence divide. Bangladesh respects innovation and intellectual property. At the same time, it is essential to ensure technology transfer, skills development and affordable access to modern technologies for developing countries. No country should be left behind in this scientific advancement. Bangladesh stands ready to work together to build a fair and prosperous future for all. It is now time for the United Nations to adopt an effective policy framework, so that the benefits of the development and rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and social media can be harnessed positively across countries. Mr. president.

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An issue central to current global conversations is that of AI. India hosted the AI Impact Summit this February, gathering together the best minds on that subject. We view AI as a transformational driver for human empowerment, economic prosperity, and population scale problem solving. We believe in the right of each nation to shape its ecosystem, with the development of its own models and deployment strategies consistent with its national goals and priorities. AI will be very much part of our partnership agenda with the Global South. As technology is democratized, this process is greatly facilitated, Mr. President, by an ethos of mutual respect. Indeed, care and consideration for the interests and viewpoints of others reinforces even the prospects of peace.

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We are promoting an agenda which we can all get behind a unifying agenda. Concrete ideas and projects. Today, what's coming to the fore is the topic of international information security. Clearly, the UN should play a central role in these discussions, not other narrow fora. In October of last year in Hanoi, at Russia's behest, the UN convention against Cybercrime was opened for signature. We welcome the establishment of the first standing global UN mechanism, which seeks to help implement the convention. The UN shoulders a special responsibility given the fast paced development of AI technologies. Generally recognized rules for the use of AI should be underpinned on an equal foundation with the participation of all countries. The start of the work of the Global Dialogue on AI governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. We believe these are steps in the right direction.

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AI is already transforming how we work, learn and govern, and it is clear that its potential is extraordinary. We have found that it has great capacity to detect disease earlier, predict disasters, improve agriculture, and expand access to education and public services. And yet, these same extraordinary systems can just as quickly reproduce discrimination, widen surveillance, and spread falsehoods faster than institutions can respond. We must not allow a new technological age to reproduce all hierarchies of access and power. And this is why Barbados is so honored to host the second in-person meeting of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, which will be held in November of this year. We recognize that yesterday's Security Council encounter may well and should speed on the question of how we, as a global community, deals with this issue. In this growing age of AI, governance cannot be left to voluntary corporate practices or to a small number of technologically advanced states. We need globally agreed rules that protect human dignity, preserve meaningful human oversight, and ensure that the benefits of AI are shared widely and equitably. I caution a technology that will affect every state must be governed by the rules that every state has had the opportunity to shape. Mr. President, exactly 65 years ago that great Caribbean, French, African intellectual and psychiatrist Frantz Fanon published what has now become a classic, The Wretched of the Earth. And across the vast range of observations and analysis that he made in that extraordinarily lucid and prescient book, he said the following. What matters today is the issue which blocks the horizon is the need for a redistribution of wealth.

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Ladies and gentlemen, threats to human dignity no longer belong exclusively to the physical world. They are increasingly emerging in places where, until recently, neither the law nor accountability extended, in the digital realm, shaped by the development of new technologies. New technologies such as artificial intelligence or superintelligence should always serve humanity as they develop, rather than exploit people or their weaknesses. This raises the question of whether, in a world of advancing artificial intelligence, humans will remain subjects or become merely objects of algorithmic influence. I'm fully aware that groundbreaking technologies bring not only enormous opportunities but also certain risks. As early as in the 1980s, an eminent Polish writer, Stanisław Lem, in his novel Fiasco, warned that the moment we teach machines to think, we will face questions not only about their capabilities but also about their ambitions. For if they begin to imitate humans in their thinking, a natural consequence may be the drive to surpass them. Today, this challenge takes on a special dimension. It is precisely the development of technology that is playing a decisive role in co-shaping the realities of the 21st century. That is why we need a serious conversation about the limits of artificial intelligence development. We need rules that will actually be enforced and that clearly define where innovation ends and a threat to humanity begins.

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Nevertheless, some of the initiatives we see from the Global South give a beacon of hope that we indeed can attain technological advancement through foresight and leadership. A key point is Ethiopia's initiative of the Five Million Coders program, and the soon-to-be-commissioned University of Artificial Intelligence reaffirms that our continent is ready to build the future. Mr. President, Ethiopia remains steadfast in its belief that the United Nations must be fundamentally reformed to best address the shifting global challenges. The UN reform must reflect our highest aspiration to witness an organization anchored in true equality and justice.

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Mr. President, we reiterate our call on the global community to promote meaningful technology transfers, ensure equitable access for developing nations, bridge the digital divide and build safe, secure and trustworthy systems that leave no one behind. Sri Lanka is in the process of building digital future that includes everyone. We have developed national AI ethical guidelines in line with international frameworks. We must ensure that emerging technologies and artificial intelligence are developed and used responsibly and consistently with international law, including the well established principles of international humanitarian law. Their development and use must contribute to international peace and security while advancing humanity's collective interests. The interest of humanity must always guide the development and use of these technologies. Mr. President, for Sri Lanka, the United Nations is an indispensable partner. The UN has stood with us in challenging times and supported our development.

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Mr. president, digital transformation and artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities to improve public service delivery diversify economies, expand markets access, and advance climate resilient development. As we are advancing digital connectivity, private sector development and trade opportunities without adequate investment, capacity building and appropriate governance, these technologies may increase inequalities and further heightened exposure to cyber security threats, misinformation and risk to data privacy. We therefore, call upon international community to strengthen resilient technical and digital infrastructure with ethical and effective guardrails and governance framework. Mr. president and excellencies, in closing, the priorities before us mentioned earlier are interconnected tests of whether the United Nations can deliver for all.

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It can transform education, multiply productivity, and close historic gaps, but also entrench inequalities and serve those that seek to weaken our institutions. We need international governance that enables us to innovate without renouncing our values, and that does not leave those that have the least resources behind. They also need to be able to access this technology. Excellencies, confidence in the multilateral system is going through difficult times.

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Mr. president, that opportunity increasingly depends on technology. Jamaica sees digital transformation and responsible artificial intelligence as powerful tools. They can enhance productivity, innovation and sustainable development for our people. Indeed, they can be an equalizing force for the world. We must therefore not allow AI to deepen old inequalities and create an entirely new global divide. Developing countries require investment in infrastructure, skills and capacity, and all countries require governance frameworks that safeguard privacy and intellectual property, ensure data integrity, and promote the ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies without stifling innovation. The pact for the future, the Global Digital Compact and the ABAS provide important foundations. Our task now as a global community is to translate commitments into action.

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We also call for international governance of artificial intelligence and outer space. These technologies must remain in the service of humanity, progress and the empowerment of peoples. Technological progress must not become a new instrument of domination. Africa must also be a center of creativity, innovation and digital sovereignty. Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, to conclude, the Republic of the Congo remains faithful to its principles peace, development, sovereignty, good neighbourliness, dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect amongst nations. We will continue to defend our national interests while fulfilling our international responsibilities. We will continue to believe in Africa and in our shared destiny, and we will continue to choose the United Nations as a privileged space for dialogue amongst people.

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As we witness the accelerating technological revolution, we cannot accept that Africa would remain on the margins or simply become a consumer of its outputs. Here we note the need to invest in the African person to build scientific and digital capacities, so that artificial intelligence becomes a tool for development, not a new label for another development gap between the North and the South. We call for a balanced and responsible international regulation of artificial intelligence that would guarantee equitable access to its benefits, that would preserve the sovereignty of states, and that would transform this revolution into a shared opportunity, rather than an exclusive privilege or monopoly in the hands of a few. In the end, we return to the question where we began how do we restore trust? Trust is restored when words match actions, trust is restored when the law is applied equally to all, trust is restored.

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The technologies shaping humanity's future must not create another divide between those countries that can afford to innovate, and those that cannot. And access alone will not be enough. As artificial intelligence become increasingly embedded in our economies and societies, we must develop credible AI governance frameworks that encourage innovation while protecting people, privacy, security, democratic values, and public trust. Technology must remain a tool for human development, not a replacement for human responsibility. We must prepare young people not only to use new technologies, but to question them, govern them and deploy them ethically.

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The East Micronesia Cable landed in Tarawa last year, connecting Kiribati with Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia, transforming our connectivity and digital development. However, it also creates vulnerabilities. With limited redundancy and technical capacity, island States face threats including cybercrime, critical infrastructure attacks, ransomware and online harms that can undermine security and development. Your Excellencies, Kiribati comes to this Assembly not simply to speak of the challenges we face. We come to speak of the future we choose.

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In keeping with that vision, my government has proposed a treaty that would bind Pacific Island countries and like minded partners to a firm, shared commitment to keep the Pacific an ocean of peace. Mr. president, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies present both unprecedented opportunities and serious risks. They can accelerate sustainable development, transform education and healthcare, strengthen disaster preparedness, and open new economic pathways for developing countries. But a widening digital divide threatens to leave developing countries further behind. For my government, digital transformation is not about technology for its own sake. It is about connecting our scattered islands and opening the modern economy to every Solomon Islander. The completion of 161 telecommunication towers across the country will lift national broadband coverage from 56 to 86%, expanding access to information, education and digital financial services. The benefits of AI must be shared by all. Mr. president, not concentrated among a few. Its risks, including its use for non-peaceful purposes, must be governed by all. Not left to a few.

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Today, peoples and nations have an opportunity to make a qualitative leap in their overall living conditions through their financing mechanism for development and tools provided by artificial intelligence in order to improve education, health, agriculture, public service, scientific research and economic productivity. In this regard, I consider that the Global Digital Compact opens new prospects for cooperation to bridge the digital divide, expand digital public infrastructure, promote training and innovation, strengthen cybersecurity, and build more inclusive, secure and human centred governance of artificial intelligence. To that end, I believe there's a need to strengthen North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation in order to make the digital revolution in an instrument of inclusion, sovereignty and development, rather than a source of dependence and inequality.

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In this regard, Turkmenistan proposes the development under the auspices of the United Nations of an International Code for the Peaceful use of AI in International Relations and Diplomacy. To support this work we propose convening in Ashgabat, an international expert dialogue on Digital Trust and the responsible use of AI. Ladies and gentlemen, peace and development are inextricably linked. For Turkmenistan, a key priority in this area is the development of sustainable, safe and inclusive transport systems.

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Partnerships built around respect, national interests and mutual contribution. And the same principle must guide the technological transformation before us. Artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities. For small States, AI can close distance. It can help overcome scale, and it can put better health care, education and public services within reach. But these opportunities must be shared. Every country must have a voice in shaping the global rules for AI. The digital future should strengthen our ability to serve our people better, not create new forms of dependence.

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Artificial intelligence and the digital revolution are opening up considerable opportunities in many areas of our contemporary world. However these technological advances can also exacerbate existing divides if their development as well as access to them, remain unevenly distributed. In this regard, Cote d'Ivoire supports the efforts of the United Nations to promote global governance of artificial intelligence that fosters innovation while protecting human dignity, international security and sustainable development in a spirit of inclusion, ethics and equitable sharing of the benefits of technological progress.

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Now, the efforts of our nation are focused on turning security into investment, investment into jobs and jobs, into social mobility technology, into opportunities and education, into skills and stability and to prosperity. Heading up alongside Estonia, the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, El Salvador reaffirmed that this technology must expand capacities and create opportunities to build environments that can be competitive in the future. Mr. president, the transformation that my country is experiencing has shown us that security, development and human dignity are not separate files. The fact is that without security, development is fragile.

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These critical minerals can help bridge the gap between wealthy and poor nations and overcome the indignities of poverty and underdevelopment. We insist, Mr. President, that indeed, Africa must have a stake in shaping the rules that govern the development and the deployment of artificial intelligence. We have a youthful population ready to play a key role in the beneficiation at source of critical minerals and research and innovations for artificial intelligence. Restoring trust in multilateralism demands that we demonstrate, as the United Nations, that peaceful resolutions of conflict is still our mantra.

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Mr. President, digital transformation and the rise of artificial intelligence are rightly considered to be one of the great promises of our time. The Global Digital Compact must become a reality: affordable connectivity, skills transfer, data protection, and a governance of AI in which developing countries decide instead of simply being users. The transformation also requires facing history with lucidity. The wounds left behind by colonization are still being felt on our continent.

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Now, let me finish by saying that artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology in the history of mankind. It will impact science, the economy, politics, security, and the very essence of our humanity. Humans can and should be in the driver's seat. We have a choice. We can compete, cooperate, or slow down. For me cooperation is the best way forward. This is why Norway and Finland have, together with leaders from nations around the world, launched a call for companies, governments, regional organizations and the UN to develop mechanisms to control frontier AI models. And I would really like for as many UN member states as possible to join this initiative.

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In the face of the rapid advance of artificial intelligence and the digital transition, Sao Tomé and Principe calls for international cooperation that enables developing countries to access the technology, knowledge, infrastructure and financing they need. We advocate responsible technology governance centered on human dignity, transparency and fundamental rights, so that innovation translates into better opportunities and services for all. Excellencies. The experience of Sao Tomé and Principe as a small democracy also shapes the way we view representation at the international level.

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Mr. president, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies offer extraordinary opportunities, but opportunity without inclusion can become another source of inequality. The digital divide must not become the next development divide. Developing countries must not remain passive consumers of technologies designed elsewhere. We need the capacity to participate in research, innovation, entrepreneurship, standard setting and global technology governance. Technology must serve humanity, and the governance of artificial intelligence must be inclusive, responsible and grounded in international cooperation. This is particularly important for the world's least developed countries. As The Gambia prepares to assume greater leadership within the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDC Group, we do so with a clear sense of responsibility. LDCs continue to face structural constraints, including limited productive capacity, high debt burdens, climate vulnerability, narrow export base technological gaps, and restricted access to affordable finance.

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It is also making it easier to produce convincing falsehoods and manipulate public debate. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right we must defend. But that does not require passivity when foreign states or other actors spread falsehoods, manipulate democratic processes, or use AI to deceive citizens at unprecedented speed and scale. Governments, scientists, businesses must cooperate internationally to harness the benefits of AI while confronting its risks. And we need to move faster, much faster. Madam president, in difficult times, nostalgia tempts us to imagine that the world used to be simpler and safer. It was not.

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Senegal also believes in the transformative potential of new technologies, including the development of AI that is based on robust morals and ethical code, based on the principle of responsibility and inclusion. The launch of our first satellite illustrates our desire to make space AI and digital tools instruments that serve and foster human development. President. Dear colleagues, we are all well aware of the challenges linked to the very life of our organisation.

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Technology illustrates both the promise and the risk. Artificial intelligence and digital innovation can accelerate development and expand opportunities, but their misuse can also deepen inequality, insecurity, and transnational crime. Combating online scams has become one of our highest national priority. Cambodia has strengthened its legal and institutional framework and intensified law enforcement operation against scam centres and the criminal network behind them, with undeniable results.

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Yet it also raises challenges for the future of work and for human rights and fundamental freedoms This calls for international governance that places the human being with his or her freedom and privacy at the heart of this transformation. Above all, we must not allow an artificial intelligence divide to emerge on top of the existing gaps in wealth and development. Restoring trust requires that every individual feel that the law protects them, that development does not exclude them, and that progress leaves no one behind. Mr. president, if restoring trust is a challenge facing our world today for Lebanon, it is not a mere slogan.

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And our responsibility is to expand those possibilities, to build schools that inspire, institutions that recognize talent, economies that reward ideas and work, and societies in which young people have a reason to stay and those who left have a reason to return. And artificial intelligence will increasingly shape those possibilities. But AI presents not only an extraordinary opportunity; it also creates a responsibility to ensure that technological transformation remains human-centered and rights-based. Technology must remain at the service of humanity and not the other way around. Climate change demands the same long-term responsibility. Montenegro carries the identity and responsibility of an ecological state.

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We have launched with UN support, a national artificial intelligence strategy and a national fintech strategy. We need an open, transparent and inclusive dialogue on governance of the new technologies, which ensures that the benefits of technological progress are shared equitably and that the risks are managed collectively. As a coastal state with an EEZ of 2.2 million km², that is more than 1000 times our landmass, Mauritius is profoundly connected to the ocean. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to UNCLOS as the legal framework governing all activities in the oceans, including the seabed and subsoil, beyond national jurisdiction.

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This requires strengthening diplomacy, mediation, and political dialogue, as well as effective control over arms proliferation and the military applications of new technologies. Artificial intelligence must be developed in keeping with international law and under effective human control, and outer space must remain the realm of peaceful and safe operations. The same principle ought to guide our response to terrorism, radicalization, disinformation, and cyber threats. No country can do this alone, ladies and gentlemen.

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Mr. president, we stand at the threshold of a new era of technological advancement. Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, digital communications and other extraordinary breakthroughs offer the prospect of transforming health, education, agriculture, productivity and public services on a scale scarcely imaginable a generation ago. But a true measure of technological progress will not be how powerful our machines become, but how much more empowered our people become. Technology must not become the privilege of the few. It must become the servant of all humanity. Mr. president, we have before us a new opportunity for sustainable development. Development must not merely make our economies richer.

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And then we had talked about artificial intelligence and global security. Today, I want to agree with President Trump that we are now talking about a call for practical, practical AI to be renamed superintelligence. SI, we commit to that. Mr. President, the illicit flow of firearms and narcotics is a major security concern for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

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However, innovation must be governed by responsibility and accountability. Emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are advancing faster than our current capacity to govern them while retaining human agency and control. This raises critical questions regarding accountability, safety, environmental impact, and the risk of a widening digital divide between those who can shape these technologies and those who are excluded from their benefits in total. The Kingdom of Eswatini remains committed to building a more resilient, diversified, and inclusive economy.

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The climate emergency demands action. Development demands investment and peace and humanitarian crises demand solidarity. The digital transition and artificial intelligence also offer new opportunities to accelerate development and improve the capacities of our states. Their potential, however, will only be fully realised if we are able to bridge the digital divide, facilitate technology sharing and build the capacities of developing countries.

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What we're witnessing here is a milestone in terms of the transformation of humankind. If it is employed properly, it will bring about unprecedented development in health care, the environment, productive processes, and in the lives of human beings in general. Governments, the technology sector, and the scientific community have the overwhelming responsibility to ensure that we do not stray from the constructive and vital purposes of AI; it must benefit the citizens. That is its overriding purpose, and we must not widen the digital divide and digital inequality throughout the world.

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Artificial intelligence can boost cyber terrorism and other crimes that we cannot yet envisage. Costa Rica, according to Microsoft's system use data, is the Latin American country that makes greatest use of artificial intelligence. We use it 58% more than the world on average.

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My country stresses that the rapid development of artificial intelligence offers great opportunities to accelerate development goals, provided that it is accompanied by comprehensive and equitable global governance that ensures responsible use and prevents the widening of the digital divide between north and south through capacity building, technology transfer and adequate financing. Mr. president. Under the leadership of President Kais Saied, Tunisia reaffirms its unwavering determination to continue its reform process, launched on the 25th of July 2021, with the aim of consolidating a democracy that guarantees rights and freedoms for all citizens and responds to the aspirations of the Tunisian people for development and prosperity.

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We face a choice. Do we let a small group of companies and countries take all the decisions while the rest of us simply look on? Or do we decide together within the logical setting of the United Nations what our future should look like? And it is also time for us to press forward together and tackle that other great challenge of our time climate change.

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Mr. president, beside the expected economic and energy transition, we must also prepare for the transformation driven by artificial intelligence. But only if we can implement AI responsibly and controlled, Suriname will be able to benefit from the opportunities of this technology and mitigate its risks. So we are preparing for that.

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Artificial intelligence can accelerate development, but its use must remain consistent with legal frameworks, human dignity and democratic accountability. Renewed nuclear rhetoric makes a firm commitment to the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons more important than ever. Climate action should be used to strengthen energy security and social cohesion. Our experience shows that the green transition should not be ideological.

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Our connectivity agenda extends beyond energy and transport. Digital connectivity offers another important area for regional cooperation. Azerbaijan is advancing new digital links across the region through ambitious initiatives such as the Digital Silk Way. This project envisages an advanced fibre optic network across the Caspian Sea, further strengthening Azerbaijan's role as a regional digital hub and a key link between Europe and Asia.

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Artificial intelligence already confronts us with another question how can we make full use of the possibilities created by innovation without allowing technology to move faster than our ability to protect people? I'm thinking, in particular, of children who are growing up in a world where AI can open extraordinary possibilities, but also creates new vulnerabilities. We must neither hold back innovation out of fear, nor assume that it will regulate itself. At sea, as in the digital world, freedom needs rules if it is to remain freedom.

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Technology has made distance matter even less. Artificial intelligence offers enormous opportunities, but in the wrong hands it can also become a powerful tool for deception, disruption, and conflict. And nature respects no borders either. Heat waves do not stop at checkpoints.

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Artificial intelligence can improve, of course, education, health, agriculture, and public administration. It can also widen the inequality if infrastructure, knowledge and rule making remains concentrated in a few countries. Developing nations must help shape the standards that will govern technologies affecting their people. Climate change presents the same moral question in harsher form.

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It's the war for truth. It is waged in the world's media and most perniciously in social media. Several foreign countries have spent untold billions to spread lies about my country. The first to do so was Qatar. Decades ago. It started massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets like Al Jazeera. They did the same in Europe, by the way, and their goal was clear brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, hate the West. This is the same Qatar that hosts the Hamas butchers of October 7th. Now the latest country to become a super spreader of anti-Semitic lies is Turkey.

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A new agenda for humanity. And we must debate that and discuss it. Because changes. Digitalization is changing things very rapidly and changing our ability to understand what is happening in our countries. I am the product of digitalization. I conducted my campaign on social networks alone. I didn't use campaign experts. I didn't use millions of dollars for my campaign.

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Technology is transforming how we communicate, govern and preserve knowledge. Artificial intelligence is changing the way economies and society function. The challenge is not to stop transformation. Rather, the challenge is to manage transformation in a manner that protect people, preserve what is valuable, and give every country the capacity to determine its own future.

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