Saudi Arabia has formally endorsed the New Delhi Declaration, the landmark outcome document of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to responsible artificial intelligence adoption, international cooperation, and technology-driven economic growth. The declaration, backed by 88 countries and international organisations, reflects an emerging global consensus on the principles that should guide the future of AI — and Saudi Arabia placed itself firmly at the heart of that conversation.
SDAIA Leads the Kingdom’s AI Diplomacy
The Saudi delegation to the summit was led by HE Prof. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). In his remarks, he underlined the alignment between the declaration’s principles and Saudi Arabia’s own national AI strategy. “The New Delhi Declaration reinforces international cooperation across key sectors to achieve sustainable growth, while its focus on human capital, digital infrastructure, and system security aligns with the Kingdom’s integrated AI ecosystem,” he said.
Alghamdi emphasised that the declaration’s emphasis on guiding technological transformation toward welfare and prosperity for all is central to how Saudi Arabia approaches its AI agenda. “Investing in people, developing national competencies, and updating regulatory frameworks are central to our approach,” he added, highlighting the Kingdom’s dual focus on building domestic AI talent while participating actively in shaping global norms.
Seven Pillars of Global AI Cooperation
The New Delhi Declaration is built around seven core pillars of international AI cooperation: democratising AI resources, driving economic growth and social good, building secure and trusted AI systems, advancing AI for science, enabling access for social empowerment, developing human capital, and creating resilient and innovative AI systems. Saudi Arabia’s endorsement signals a commitment to advancing each of these dimensions both domestically and through multilateral channels.
The declaration also affirms the importance of multistakeholder engagement, respect for national sovereignty, and the development of voluntary, non-binding governance frameworks — all areas where Saudi Arabia has been building institutional capacity through SDAIA and the broader national AI ecosystem.
AI as a Pillar of Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia’s endorsement of the declaration is consistent with its growing stature as a global AI hub. Through Vision 2030, the Kingdom has made artificial intelligence a strategic priority — investing in data infrastructure, talent development, and regulatory frameworks that support responsible innovation. SDAIA has positioned Saudi Arabia as an active contributor to international AI governance conversations, and the Kingdom’s participation in the India AI Impact Summit is another step in that direction.
With its endorsement of the New Delhi Declaration alongside 87 other nations, Saudi Arabia has signalled that its AI ambitions are not merely domestic — they are global. The Kingdom intends to shape the direction of AI development in ways that reflect its values: human-centred, sustainability-driven, and grounded in the shared pursuit of progress and prosperity.
