Belgrade Ministerial Declaration on Artificial Intelligence Adopted

This declaration marks a significant step forward in fostering an integrated partnership among GPAI members by embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as a driver of economic and social progress, while mitigating associated risks and ensuring benefits for people and the planet.

A Diplomatic Success for Serbia Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation, Dr. Jelena Begović, highlighted the importance of this achievement:

“The adoption of the Belgrade Declaration is a major diplomatic success for the Republic of Serbia. Following the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence Summit, 44 countries have now embraced the Declaration proposed by our country, which is a remarkable accomplishment. The Declaration focuses on mechanisms to legally and ethically regulate AI, ensuring broad global participation, which gives it both weight and value.”

Dr. Begović emphasized the Declaration's commitment to narrowing the gap in technological development among nations: “We must recognize that not all countries are at the same level of technological advancement. One of the Declaration’s main goals is to reduce this gap, ensuring that all countries can advance together into the technological future. This will be achieved by actively involving science in all processes.”

Highlights of the Belgrade Declaration

The Declaration sets out key priorities for the future development of AI, including:

• Preserving Fundamental Values: Reaffirming the importance of individual freedoms, democratic values, the rule of law, and human rights as the foundation for AI development and application.
• Promoting Global Cooperation: Strengthening international collaboration through an integrated partnership with the OECD to build a sustainable and trustworthy AI ecosystem.
• Addressing the Digital Divide: Acknowledging disparities between developed and developing nations and promoting equal opportunities for all to access AI advancements.
• Advancing Safe and Sustainable AI: Encouraging the use of AI to address global challenges, including employment, data management, privacy protection, sustainable agriculture, biotechnology, and environmental impacts.

A Platform for International Collaboration

The Belgrade Summit of the GPAI, held on December 3–4, 2024, officially launched Serbia and Slovakia's co-chairmanship of the organization. The event brought together over 1,500 participants, including 148 delegates from more than 45 countries and international organizations, as well as 500 global AI experts.

The Declaration also emphasized the importance of sharing information and GPAI’s results with the global community, enabling all nations to benefit from advancements in AI. Ministers, organizations, academia, industry, and civil society were urged to work collectively to develop human-centric AI rooted in ethical principles.

Upcoming Events

The Declaration announced two major upcoming events:

• AI Action Summit, to be held in Paris on February 10–11, 2025.
• Next GPAI Summit, scheduled to take place in Bratislava.

The Belgrade Ministerial Declaration solidifies Serbia’s role as a leader in global AI discussions and underscores the commitment of GPAI member states to fostering innovation while ensuring that AI technologies align with ethical and human-centric values.