Embassy of India in Nepal hosts pre-summit for AI Impact Summit 2026

KATHMANDU: The Embassy of India in Nepal organised an official pre-summit event for the AI Impact Summit 2026 titled 'AI for inclusive growth: Building Nepal’s AI ready future' in partnership with the AI Association of Nepal in Kathmandu on Friday.

The summit will take place in New Delhi in February 2026, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Jagadish Kharel, was the chief guest. He outlined the Nepali government’s ongoing AI initiatives and prospective areas for bilateral cooperation in the AI sector. He said public trust is a crucial aspect of AI and that building a trustworthy AI ecosystem in agriculture, health, cultural tourism, and education will be difficult without bilateral cooperation.

One of the central themes of the discussion was recent advancements in AI and the forthcoming AI Impact Summit.

During the plenary session, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava highlighted the key principles underpinning India’s "AI for ALL" vision. He said the summit intends to steer the global discussion on AI towards its real‑world effects on every part of life and its long‑term consequences.

He also urged Nepali youth to engage in India’s AI initiatives, including AI for ALL, AI for HER and YUVAi.

Digital India Bhashini Division CEO Amitabh Nag delivered a keynote address on Bhashini, an AI app that translates various Indian languages, and its contribution to transforming public service delivery in India, illustrating his remarks with multiple use cases. He said Bhashini translates 22 languages, with Nepali among them.

Digital Societies Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation Director Anirban Sharma provided participants with an overview of the AI Impact Summit.

A panel discussion titled 'Leveraging AI for Nepal’s Growth', moderated by AI Association of Nepal Vice President Dr Suresh Pokhrel, followed the keynote sessions.

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Joint Secretary Aadesh Khadka outlined Nepal’s evolving approach to a national AI policy, while Digital India Bhashini Division CEO Nag, and Digital Societies Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation Director Sharma offered perspectives from India’s rapidly expanding AI landscape.

Robotics Association of Nepal President Bikash Gurung discussed efforts to widen AI and robotics adoption among young people. Sixit Bhatt, founder of Vriddhi Network, stressed the need to embed AI within Nepal’s digital public infrastructure.

More than 400 participants attended, including representatives from startups, government agencies, chambers of commerce and industry, the Robotics Association of Nepal, NAS‑IT, the Fintech Alliance and the AI Association of Nepal, as well as academic institutions, think tanks and media organisations.

Applications for the AI Impact Summit can be submitted online.