‘The fact that we are holding the AI Impact Summit in…’: NZ minister says India’s contribution is widely recognised

India AI Impact Summit 2026: The fact that the summit on artificial intelligence is happening in India is a recognition of the nation’s growing contribution to the ecosystem, said New Zealand Minister of  Science, Innovation and Technology, Dr Shane Reti. He added that New Zealand sees India as a giant and is keen to collaborate with India on that front. 

"The fact that we are holding the Summit in India is recognition by the whole world of the importance India can have,” said the minister. He said that the summit not only speaks about the importance of AI but also the contribution that India is making. 

“From New Zealand's perspective, we see India as a giant that it is, but also the good work being done on policy, for example on the international guardrails. We are very keen to collaborate with India in the AI space, in the AI domain because we also recognise the importance of being able to maximise the potential opportunities with AI, and it’s going to need some pragmatic guardrails, it needs to have an international common language, pragmatic deliverables and rules,” said Dr Reti. 

"Both India and New Zealand understand that it’s important that if we are going to get the benefits that’s promised from AI, then we are going to need a social licence,” he said, adding that it is, hence, important to engender trust. 

“That is where we are going to learn from India and be a part of an international discussion around how can we demonstrate to industries, to communities, to constituents, to people we serve that they can have trust that we have considered all the risks that come with artificial intelligence and how the international global community can look into developing those international guardrails that can protect against some of the harms that can come from AI while still maximising the benefits,” said Dr Reti. 

India AI Impact Summit 2026

The India AI Impact Summit began today at Bharat Mandapam, to showcase the transformative power of artificial intelligence and foster global dialogue on its future direction and responsible adoption.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026 on Monday at Bharat Mandapam, according to his office. The Summit will run from February 16 to 20, with the Expo serving as a platform for policy leaders, innovators, and the public to see AI's practical applications.

The India AI Impact Expo 2026 will be held alongside the Summit at Bharat Mandapam. The exhibition will serve as a national demonstration of AI in action, where policy meets practice, innovation meets scale, and technology meets the everyday citizen. The Expo features over 13 country pavilions, including those from Australia, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and several European and African nations. These pavilions highlight international cooperation within the AI ecosystem.

It will host over 300 curated exhibition pavilions and live demonstrations, structured across three thematic chakras: people, planet, and progress. Participation exceeds 600 high-potential startups, many of which are building globally relevant and population-scale solutions. These startups will demonstrate working solutions already deployed in real-world settings.

The organisers anticipate over 250,000 visitors, including international delegates from technology companies, and government officials.