New Delhi: Artificial intelligence governance and the digitisation of global trade documentation will be among the top priorities of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) under its new chairperson Harsh Pati Singhania, who said the organisation aims to create globally interoperable standards that make international trade faster, cheaper and more accessible, particularly for emerging economies.Singhania, who recently assumed charge as chairperson of the Paris-headquartered ICC, said the business organisation sees an urgent need to establish global norms for AI without stifling innovation."There have to be some rules of engagement and boundaries," he said, noting that governments, businesses and technology companies continue to hold differing views on the extent of AI regulation. The ICC will work towards evolving internationally accepted standards and protocols that encourage responsible AI adoption while preserving openness and transparency.The ICC, founded in 1919, represents more than 45 million businesses across 170 countries through 92 national committees. Singhania is only the fourth Indian to lead the organisation after Hari Shankar Singhania and Sunil Mittal.Another major focus area is the digitisation of global trade documentation through the ICC's Digital Standards Initiative (DSI). Despite rapid advances in digital commerce, around 80-90% of trade documentation worldwide remains paper-based, according to Singhania.The ICC has identified 36 key trade documents used in cross-border commerce, including bills of lading, airway bills and certificates of origin, for standardisation and digitisation. Twenty-one have already been digitised, while work on the remainder is underway."If they are digitised and become interoperable across countries, trade becomes smoother, costs come down and smaller businesses gain easier access to international markets," Singhania said. He added that harmonised digital standards would be especially beneficial for emerging economies where smaller enterprises often struggle with compliance costs and paperwork.He said India is well positioned to play a leading role in this transition, citing the country's digital public infrastructure and experience in building interoperable digital systems. Initiatives around digital identity, payments and public platforms have demonstrated how common standards can improve efficiency, he said, adding that similar principles could be applied to global trade.Beyond digital trade, Singhania said the ICC would continue working on trade facilitation, dispute resolution, climate action and strengthening the multilateral trading system. He also called for reforms to global trade governance, including greater use of plurilateral agreements to overcome decision-making bottlenecks at the World Trade Organization.The ICC is also expanding access to dispute resolution through online mechanisms aimed at smaller businesses.