PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak meeting with Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres [November 2023]

The Prime Minister welcomed the Secretary-General’s attendance at the AI Summit and the establishment of the United Nations’ AI Advisory Body. The Prime Minister looked forward to its recommendations next year, which would be informed by the discussions at the AI Safety Summit and the ‘State of the Science’ report on frontier AI risk driven by the UK. They discussed the need for close global collaboration on AI safety, and the Prime Minister set out how the UK AI Safety Institute would be taking forward this work with global partners.

The leaders then discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and agreed on the importance of urgently scaling up the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid. The Prime Minister set out the work the UK is doing to support, including doubling aid funding for the United Nations and others’ work in Gaza and pre-positioning emergency supplies and equipment in Egypt. The Prime Minister and the Secretary-General agreed on the need to reinvigorate international efforts to reach a lasting resolution to the conflict and progress work towards a two-state solution.

The two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister raised concerns about the breakdown of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and stressed the importance of maintaining support for Ukraine.