NICCI holds seminar on Nepal-India AI collaboration in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), together with the Embassy of India in Nepal and the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA), held a seminar in Kathmandu on Friday to explore cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.

The session, titled 'India-Nepal Partnership in Emerging Technologies: Exploring Bilateral Opportunities for AI Collaboration', brought business, government, academic and technology leaders together to discuss practical avenues for partnership between the two countries.

Ahead of the programme, Dr Pratyush Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of Sarvam AI, met representatives from Nepal’s tech and investment community, including Data World, Bichuten, Golchha Industries, Spark Group and Sparrow SMS, to discuss opportunities in digital infrastructure and AI. He then delivered the keynote address.

NICCI President Sunil KC opened the event and urged Sarvam AI to consider establishing a presence in Nepal and to pursue collaborations with public- and private-sector partners. He said such ties could attract broader technology investment, support knowledge transfer and help close Nepal’s foreign direct investment gap through innovation-led projects.

Suman Shekhar, First Secretary (Commerce) at the Embassy of India in Nepal, placed the seminar within the wider India-Nepal economic relationship and affirmed continued support for joint efforts in digital capacity building, startup support and knowledge exchange on emerging technologies.

During his keynote, Dr Kumar outlined Sarvam AI’s work on full-stack generative AI and local-language systems tailored to South Asia’s linguistic and cultural context. He argued that emerging economies can move beyond relying on externally developed tools and instead build sovereign capabilities that meet local needs, highlighting the importance of local-language models, responsible deployment practices, and domestic talent development.

Dr Bindu Nath Lohani, Chancellor of the University of Nepal, spoke on the role of higher education in developing talent, advancing research, and supporting long-term innovation, with an emphasis on collaboration between academia and industry to prepare students and researchers for an AI-driven future.

Following the presentations, an interactive question-and-answer session took place, with participants raising issues such as business adoption of AI, talent pipelines, governance and regional collaboration. Organisers said the exchange showed strong interest in how Nepal can use AI to boost productivity and competitiveness.

Dilip Bhattarai, Co-Convenor of NICCI’s Startup & Private Equity Committee, gave valedictory remarks, thanking Dr Kumar and noting the value of direct engagement between Nepali stakeholders and regional AI practitioners. Marshal Rathour closed the programme and reaffirmed NICCI’s commitment to creating platforms that connect business, government and technology communities from both countries.

NICCI expressed appreciation to the Embassy of India, Dr Pratyush Kumar and Sarvam AI, AIDIA and all partners and attendees. The chamber said it plans to continue programmes on knowledge sharing, capacity building and partnership development between Nepal’s startup ecosystem and India’s technology sector.