The Intelligence Grid: Building Bridges Through Sovereign AI Collaboration

Artificial intelligence is fast becoming the new infrastructure of power — not just economically, but geopolitically. As global competition over AI systems intensifies, a new model of sovereign AI collaboration is emerging among middle powers. This opening session brings together the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Vietnam, along with the Group CEO of the UAE’s G42, to explore how ASEAN, the Gulf can move beyond zero-sum rivalry and toward shared AI development, data trust frameworks, and inclusive digital infrastructure. Can the ASEAN–GCC corridor help define a third way in global AI governance? What investments, safeguards, and institutional frameworks are required to ensure that AI enhances sovereignty without deepening division? And what role can strategic companies like G42, backed by state vision but operating at global scale, play in aligning commercial success with geopolitical responsibility? This conversation will set the agenda for a forum focused on inclusion, resilience, and technological alignment across the emerging powers of the 21st century.