13 It is in this context that France and Europe are hosting this Summit, in line with our clear commitment to open and inclusive progress on artificial intelligence and to an approach focused on sovereignty and strategic inde- pendence when it comes to absolutely crucial technologies for our societies and economies . The French President has been working to make France and Europe leading actors in arti- ficial intelligence since 2017 , as illustrated by how the national strategy is fully integrated into support for the development of the technologies at European level. Europe is taking a unique, cre- ative and responsible approach to digital tech- nology, combining innovation and regulation to serve its citizens. It is also an attractive place to work for artificial intelligence researchers and developers . Moreover, Europe has a singu- lar message when it comes to addressing major global challenges, which require an inclusive approach like the sharing of vaccines during the pandemic.