New Delhi, Feb 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, for the ongoing AI Impact Summit here and held nine bilaterals with heads of state and CEOs.
The world leaders, including Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Disanayaka and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, were welcomed to an ensemble of traditional musical instruments, including drums, nadaswaram and tanpura, with the prime minister greeting them with a warm handshake and exchange of pleasantries.
Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Croatia Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic, Seychelles Vice President Sebastien Pillay, Estonia President Alar Karis, and Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo were among those welcomed by Modi at the brightly decorated Bharat Mandapam.
Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Guyana Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo were also among the leaders welcomed by the prime minister.
Modi held seven bilateral meetings with world leaders and two with global CEOs and discussed issues of mutual interest with them.
The leaders with whom Modi held bilaterals included Bhutan’s Tobgay, Spain President Pedro Sanchez, and Croatia’s Plenkovic, among others.
The prime minister held two separate meetings with the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, and the cofounder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla.
“Held fruitful discussions with the Prime Minister of Croatia, Mr Andrej Plenkovic. We discussed how to add momentum to our bilateral partnership in areas such as technology, innovation, shipbuilding, blue economy and boosting connectivity through the IMEEC corridor,” Modi said on X after the meeting with his Croatian counterpart.
In another post after meeting the Estonian president, Modi said, “Had an excellent meeting with President Alar Karis of Estonia, a nation which has made remarkable strides in tech and AI. Discussed how to add further vigour to our economic partnership, particularly in the context of the India-EU FTA, which is a historical agreement.”
The AI Impact Summit is being held from February 16-20 at the Bharat Mandapam, in which more than 500 global AI leaders, 150 academicians and researchers, and 400 chief technology officers, vice-presidents, and philanthropists are taking part.
On Thursday, Modi will address the Summit, which aims to position the country as a leader in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and envisions a future where technology advances humanity and fosters inclusive growth.
Modi will also hold bilaterals with several world leaders attending the Summit, an official statement said.
Along with Modi, France President Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary-General Guterres and various top industry leaders from across the world will also address the Summit on Thursday.
Modi will also visit the India AI Impact Expo 2026 along with other leaders, where they will go to the pavilions set up by various countries.
Modi will then participate in the Leaders’ Plenary, which will take place around 12 noon onwards, bringing together heads of state, ministers and senior representatives from multilateral institutions to outline the national and global priorities of AI, including governance, infrastructure and international cooperation.
The prime minister will later participate in a CEO roundtable from 5.30 pm onwards, in which senior executives from global technology and industry firms will discuss investment, research collaboration, supply chains and deployment of AI systems with the government leadership.
On Wednesday evening, the prime minister hosted a dinner for the heads of state and global dignitaries.
Tagging photos of the dinner, Modi posted on X, “With world leaders at the AI Impact Summit dinner and cultural programme.”
He also posted photos of cultural performances at the Summit, saying, “The cultural programme at Bharat Mandapam showcased India’s rich heritage and traditions!”
The theme of India AI Impact Summit 2026 is ‘Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay’ (welfare for all, happiness of all).
Seven working groups are anchoring the Summit, aligned to three pillars – people, planet and progress – focusing on delivering concrete outcomes demonstrating AI’s impact across sectors.
The seven themes of the Summit are AI for Economic Growth and Social Good; Democratising AI Resources; Inclusion for Social Empowerment; Safe and Trusted AI; Human Capital; Science; and Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency.
