• With this measure, Spain is committed to a strategic presence of the organization to lead research on global governance of AI and move the Spanish model of artificial intelligence to the center of international negotiations
• The initiative will allow progress in the implementation of measures of the Global Digital Pact, such as the future Independent International Scientific Panel on AI or the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, keys to closing the technological gap

The Council of Ministers approved today, on the proposal of the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Óscar López, a voluntary contribution of 3 million euros to the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (UNODET), which aims to support global cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) governance.

The Spanish voluntary contribution is the most ambitious in AI made to the United Nations. With it, it is expected to be able to ensure that the model applied in Spain for artificial intelligence, a model of responsible innovation, has international impact and reach so that it positions the country and its ecosystem as leaders in this field.

UNODET will establish, in this way, a division in Valencia dedicated to research in the development of AI standards and policies, risk classification, as well as support to the secretariat of the different initiatives coinciding with the monitoring of the Global Digital Pact during the next two years. This division will be located at the headquarters of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

In addition, with this initiative, the Government of Spain wants to continue its commitment to recovery and reconstruction in the Community after the DANA, attracting this United Nations office to generate an increasingly innovative and competitive ecosystem that will ensure economic change in the region and support a return to normality.

UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies

With this contribution, the Government of Spain continues to strengthen its international political action in the field of artificial intelligence, a commitment that the President of the Government affirmed in his speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2023. In this regard, the Spanish Carme Artigas co-chaired the High Level Advisory Council of the UN Secretary General on AI and the Spanish Ambassador to the United Nations, Héctor Gómez, was appointed as co-facilitator in the consultations to establish an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, together with the Costa Rican Ambassador to the United Nations, Maritza Chan Valverde.

The initiative will allow progress in the implementation of measures of the Global Digital Pact, such as the future Independent International Scientific Panel on AI or the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, keys to closing the technological gap. The Global Digital Pact establishes common objectives and principles, as well as specific commitments and actions, to guide the development of an inclusive digital future.

The United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, led by Amandeep Singh Gill, Assistant Secretary-General and Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Technology, coordinates the implementation of the United Nations Secretary-General’s roadmap for digital cooperation and offers a vision for a digitally interdependent and secure world. It sets out the measures to be taken by the world community to ensure the connection, respect and protection of people in the digital age. The WTO has supported the Global Digital Compact negotiations, served as a Secretariat for the UN Secretary-General’s High Level AI Advisory Body, whose report was published in conjunction with the adoption of the Global Digital Compact in September 2024, and will be key to the follow-up to the Global Digital Compact.