French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on February 18, 2026, urged nations to develop sovereign AI capacities to ensure the technology serves humanity without overdependence on a few global powers. Inaugurating the Indo-French Centre for AI in Health (IF-CAIH) at AIIMS with Union Health Minister J P Nadda, Macron emphasized building trusted systems independently.
“India and France are committed to developing the computing capacity and talent necessary to build our own trusted AI systems, as we cannot rely solely on technologies created and managed elsewhere,” he declared. Macron praised India’s digital feats, 1.4 billion IDs, 20 billion monthly payments, and 500 million health IDs as the “India Stack Open Interoperable Sovereign,” a model for global AI infrastructure.
Stressing responsible governance, Macron insisted AI must protect children, ensure
algorithmic transparency against bias, and preserve linguistic-cultural diversity, shared
India-France priorities. “No country should be reduced to merely serving as a market for
foreign players to sell their AI models and extract citizens’ data,” he warned, advocating
strategic autonomy amid Big Tech dominance.
The IF-CAIH, partnering AIIMS, IIT-Delhi, Sorbonne University, and Paris Brain Institute,
advances AI research in brain health and global systems, building on ties in digital health,
AMR and data use.
Macron’s vision aligns with summit themes, elevating Indo-French ties to a “special global
strategic partnership” across defence, tech, and minerals, including H125 helicopter
manufacturing in Karnataka. He positioned the duo to shape ethical AI futures, blending
France’s expertise with India’s scale for stability and innovation.
Macron Advocates Sovereign AI to Serve Humanity
