The decision about IRCAI will be made by the UNESCO general conference in Paris next month. Hrastelj expressed hope that UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay would visit Slovenia at the beginning of 2020 to sign the agreement establishing the centre in Slovenia.

The proposal to establish IRCAI, submitted to UNESCO by the Ministry of Education, Science ans Sport, was already approved by UNESCO's executive committee in April.

Speaking at a debate on IRCAI hosted by the ministry in Ljubljana on Friday, Education Minister Jernej Pikalo said that IRCAI would be the first UNESCO centre for artificial intelligence.

Hrastelj said that the real work of setting up the centre would begin once the final okay was given.

IRCAI will be a category II UNESCO centre, which means that it will be established and funded by Slovenia.

At the beginning, its seat will be at the Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS), Mitja Jermol of IJS, the country's top research institution, said at the event.