India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman calls for action at COP28

Ahead of COP28, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for concrete action on climate funding and transfer of technology at the upcoming global climate summit. The minister made the comment in a virtual session at the inaugural event of India Global Forum Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A) in Dubai on Monday.

“India will certainly be pushing forward to showcase what it has achieved with its own funds,” she said. “The Paris commitment given by us have been funded by us. We didn't wait for the hundred billion that is never on the table. A lot of talk, but no money coming on the table; No pathways to show how technology is going to be transferred.”

Urging action instead of words, the minister added, “Particularly for developing and emerging market economies, funding this is going to be a huge challenge. So, I would think the conversations can happen, a lot of talk can happen but eventually COP28 should show the direction, both for transfer of technology and for the actual funding.”

While she admitted that there would be challenges, Sitharaman said that the current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East would not affect the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Corridor that was announced during the G20 Summit in September.

“It is a vision and a vision for long-term considerations and it is going to be a long-term project. It's not just going to depend on one or the other major event pertaining to the area. It is going to be pursued because India has a very good relationship with each of the Middle East countries.

“So, IMEEC, or the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor is not going to be dependent on one or the other major event of concern, but it is something on which the vision drives the implementation in the long run. So, it's going to face challenges all right, but it has got its own strengths, and countries that are directly or indirectly in connection with this project are absolutely clear that this, through India, is going to be critical for global trade, global partnerships and also making sure that this corridor will benefit each one of these countries.”

Under the theme Unleashing Ambitions’ IGF ME&A convenes business leaders, policymakers, and thought leaders from India, the Middle East, and Africa to discuss opportunities for further collaboration and growth between these regions through a series of exclusive networking opportunities, panel discussions, and keynote speeches, covering a range of topics including trade, investment, innovation, technology, and sustainability.

Underscoring shared economic interests, India Global Forum Founder and Chairman, Manoj Ladwa said, "With India’s growing dependability as a trusted global partner, its expertise in digital innovation, and enterprise, the Middle East’s financial might and geographic position as a gateway between the East and the West, and the diversity, scale, and untapped human capital of Africa’s markets, there is every reason to work together to achieve our common goals of bringing about sustainable and rapid economic prosperity. Or to put it another way, what reason could there possibly be not to work together?"

Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, emphasised the indispensability of AI and its impact on society during his keynote address at the inauguration of the event yesterday.

“If anyone, whether it's in the UAE or another country says we're going to stop or not allow you to use these tools, how will it impact your quality of life? It's going to have a detrimental impact on your quality of life. That's why countries like India, for example, went down the non-conventional path of creating its own platforms, which I think is very smart and really the way that many countries of that size need to go. In that sense, AI is driving the economy. AI is impacting society. And AI is today the technology that is enabling people to go into the 21st century in the right way. Governing it the right way, regulating it the right way and developing certain forms of the right way is really the only way to go.”

On AI regulation, Al Olama expressed his scepticism saying, “Calls for regulation of AI are non-starters and I've been saying this for a few years and the reason is it's as if I told someone I'm going to regulate a field of computer science or I'm going to regulate electricity. You don't regulate electricity, you regulate where electricity is used and what are the outcomes. And AI is a field of computer science. It is very difficult for you to have one set of regulations that cut across all its use cases. The second thing is the impact of AI differs on geography. So, I'm sure the Indian stakeholders in India that are looking at the impact of AI in India will see much different challenges to India than I'm seeing in the UAE because of demographic differences, because of different job classes and types of jobs and maturity of the technology.”

IGF Forum also witnessed interventions from Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Gujarat Industries Minister Harsh Sanghavi, and Author and Monk Gaur Gopal Das among others.