New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged with several world leaders, holding as many as nine bilateral meetings before wrapping up a hectic Wednesday by hosting a banquet for the visiting dignitaries attending India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
PM Modi held meetings with the leaders of Spain, Finland, Serbia, Croatia, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Bhutan. He also met the CEO of Google and co-founder of Sun Microsystems.
The informal interactions with global leaders continued till late evening as PM Modi warmly welcomed the world leaders at the official banquet held at the Bharat Mandapam.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi held bilateral meetings with Pedro Sanchez (President of Spain), Petteri Orpo (Prime Minister of Finland), Aleksandar Vucic (President of Serbia), Andrej Plenkovic (Prime Minister of Croatia), Alar Karis (President of Estonia), Olzhas Bektenov (Prime Minister of Kazakhstan) and Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay on the margins of the AI Impact Summit.
Prime Minister Modi also met Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Vinod Khosla, the founder of Sun Microsystems, at the Hyderabad House.
On Thursday, PM Modi will participate in the opening ceremony of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at the Bharat Mandapam. The gathering will also be addressed by the President of France, Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as various top industry leaders from across the world.
This will be followed by a visit to the India AI Impact Expo 2026 along with other leaders where they will visit various country pavilions.
Prime Minister will then participate in the Leaders' Plenary which will bring together Heads of State, ministers, and senior representatives from multilateral institutions to outline national and global priorities on AI, including governance, infrastructure, and international cooperation.
Thereafter, Prime Minister will participate in the CEO roundtable which will convene senior executives from global technology and industry firms with government leadership to discuss investment, research collaboration, supply chains, and deployment of AI systems.
The theme of India AI Impact Summit 2026 is 'welfare for all, happiness of all'. It aims to position India as a leader in the field of AI and envisions a future where AI advances humanity, fosters inclusive growth, and safeguards the shared planet.
Seven Working Groups anchor the Summit, aligned to three pillars: People, Planet, and Progress. These groups will work on delivering concrete outcomes demonstrating AI’s impact across sectors. The seven themes are: AI for Economic Growth and Social Good; Democratizing AI Resources; Inclusion for Social Empowerment; Safe and Trusted AI; Human Capital; Science; Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency.
The Summit has brought together more than 500 Global AI Leaders, including CEOs/CXOs, around 100 CEOs and Founders, 150 Academicians and Researchers, and 400 CTOs, VPs, and Philanthropists. It will also engage over 100 government representatives, including more than 20 Heads of State and Government and around 60 Ministers and Vice Ministers.
--IANS
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