PM Narendra Modi holds key bilateral meetings with global leaders and tech CEOs at India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, focusing on responsible AI, innovation, and global cooperation.
At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of high-level meetings with global leaders, CEOs, and multilateral heads, positioning India at the center of the global artificial intelligence dialogue.
Hosted at Bharat Mandapam, the summit brought together heads of state, technology giants, policymakers, and AI researchers to deliberate on the future of artificial intelligence, ethical governance, and economic transformation.
Nine Bilateral Meetings, Strong Global Outreach
On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi conducted multiple bilateral meetings with international leaders and global institutional heads. Discussions focused on AI collaboration, digital public infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and strengthening economic ties through technology partnerships.
Among those he interacted with were global leaders from Europe and Asia, along with United Nations and financial institution representatives. The meetings emphasized responsible AI development, cross-border innovation, and building frameworks to ensure AI benefits all sections of society.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, in New Delhi on Wednesday, underscoring India’s effort to deepen ties with global technology leaders as it seeks a central role in the intensifying race to develop artificial intelligence.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, hosted at Bharat Mandapam from Feb. 16 to 20. Mr. Pichai, who also leads Alphabet, Google’s parent company, joined policymakers, executives and researchers from more than 100 countries for the gathering, which Indian officials have cast as a milestone for the Global South.
In a post on X, Mr. Modi said the conversation centered on India’s progress in artificial intelligence and opportunities for collaboration. “Talked about the work India is doing in AI and how Google can work with our talented students and professionals,” the Prime Minister wrote.
The encounter comes as New Delhi pushes to build a stronger domestic A.I. ecosystem, seeking to balance its ambitions for rapid innovation with concerns about governance, workforce readiness and equitable access to emerging technologies.
Organizers said the summit has drawn representatives from more than 110 countries and 30 international organizations, including over 20 heads of state or government, roughly 60 ministers and more than 500 A.I. leaders from industry and academia.
Alongside the main event, the India AI Impact Expo has featured more than 600 start-ups and 13 country pavilions, part of a broader effort by the government to position India as a serious contender in artificial intelligence research, deployment and entrepreneurship.
Mr. Modi used the summit to hold a series of bilateral meetings, linking A.I. cooperation with wider diplomatic and economic priorities. He met with Finland’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, to discuss the proposed India-European Union Free Trade Agreement and potential collaboration in areas including 6G, clean energy, biofuels and circular economy technologies.
Later, he held talks with Spain’s president, Pedro Sánchez, with discussions spanning defense, security and technology. Mr. Modi noted that 2026 would be marked as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism and A.I., signaling an effort to integrate technological cooperation with broader cultural diplomacy.
In an interview with ANI’s text service, Mr. Modi described artificial intelligence as both an opportunity and a test for India’s technology-driven growth model. He said projections indicate the country’s information technology sector could reach $400 billion by 2030, with growth partly fueled by A.I.-enabled outsourcing and automation.
For global technology companies like Google, India offers a vast and rapidly digitizing market as well as a deepening pool of engineering talent. For India’s government, partnerships with firms at the forefront of A.I. development are viewed as essential to expanding domestic capability, strengthening skills pipelines and shaping international norms around safety and regulation.
As ministerial discussions continue, India is seeking a larger voice in debates over how artificial intelligence should be governed and deployed. Hosting one of the first major A.I. summits in the Global South, officials say, reflects a broader ambition: to ensure that emerging technologies are not only built in a handful of capitals, but shaped by countries whose populations stand to be most transformed by them.
By Mohd Hassan, edited by Faustine Ngila (Impact Newswire).
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Mohd Hassan has extensive experience in news gathering, editing, and writing for the newswire industry, Contact – Info@impactnews-wire.com
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