UK Keir Starmer has decided not to attend the AI Action Summit held in Paris from 10-11 February 2025. The global event features world leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, India’s PM Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance.
The Prime Minister has been widely criticized for not taking part in the event that the BBC described on February 6th by Global Powers as a platform to measure AI capabilities.
What does it mean to be a world leader who has neglected to attend a global summit?
Many of the important transactions that occur at global events like these are struck in secondary meetings and discussions. It’s probably an off-cuff conversation.
At the 2018 G20 Summit in Argentina, one of the major breakthroughs of the event came from a local dinner between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Similarly, at Glasgow COP26 in 2021, despite general tensions between the two countries, a surprising US-China climate cooperation agreement emerged from private negotiations between delegates. At the 1945 Yalta Conference, an informal moment between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin played a key role in shaping the postwar world. Before the important meeting, Churchill wanted to carefully plan their approach, but Roosevelt was convinced that he would reject the idea and handle it in that moment. When the meeting began, Roosevelt chuckled Churchill, made Stalin laugh, and helped him establish a personal relationship. This light exchange eased Stalin’s stance, leading to the Soviet agreement that Roosevelt casually sought him for support, and helped him join the war with Japan and define the postwar order.
As well as opportunities to do business, international events like these show support for conferences and events. Many UK Parliamentary members have shown their involvement in the All-Party Parliament Group for Events (APPG for Events) as reported in Conference News ahead of the Global Policy Forum 2025 on April 1st .
It’s a shame for the industry. The MP has shown interest in an industry that provides billions to the economy, but the Prime Minister appears to be uncommitted to attend and support major events.
This international AI summit has other potential drawbacks to the Prime Minister’s no-show.
Loss of policy impact: AI regulation and ethics are shaped at conferences and events like these. Without UK leadership in the room, other countries and blocs (e.g., the EU, the US, China) would control the debate and set up a framework that the UK would need to adapt later, rather than create. You can do it.
Investment Signal: The UK AI sector relies on international cooperation and investment. If global investors and companies see the absence of UK PM, they may question the government’s commitment to supporting AI innovation.
Business Competitiveness: Leaders in other countries actively promote the AI ecosystem to investors. No-shows from the UK risk losing visibility and potential partnerships.
By skipping the AI Action Summit, priorities risk stance the UK on the sidelines from key policy decisions and investment opportunities. He will not hold unscheduled meetings with key leaders to hit the deal.
Other world leaders use these events to ensure regulations and safe partnerships, and the UK’s absence could send a false message about commitment to both AI and the broader event industry .
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