Abuja: India is set to host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi from February 19 to February 20, marking the first global artificial intelligence summit to take place in the Global South, according to a statement from the Indian High Commission.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, the High Commissioner of India to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, emphasized that the summit aims to reshape the global AI discourse with significant implications for Nigeria and Africa. The event is expected to elevate the voices of the Global South in AI governance and address crucial issues such as data sovereignty, employment disruption, and the widening digital divide impacting developing economies.
Singh noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the summit at the France AI Action Summit, describing it as a pivotal moment for developing nations to influence global technology policy. The summit’s core theme, “Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya”-welfare for all, happiness for all-reflects the shared aspirations between India, Nigeria, and other African countries.
The envoy outlined the summit’s foundation on three guiding pillars-People, Planet, and Progress Sutras-which are designed to promote inclusive, sustainable, and growth-oriented deployment of artificial intelligence. He explained that the People Sutra prioritizes human dignity, cultural diversity, and inclusion, while the Planet Sutra focuses on environmentally responsible AI development, particularly for climate-vulnerable regions.
Singh added that the Progress Sutra aims to accelerate economic growth and social good through democratized AI access, job creation, and innovation, resulting in seven cooperation areas known as Chakras. The summit will promote AI as a shared development enabler through the IndiaAI Mission, aiming to provide large-scale public AI infrastructure accessible to partner countries.
This approach mirrors India’s previous sharing of digital public goods, offering Nigerian developers, start-ups, and public institutions opportunities to build AI solutions at lower costs. The summit will also showcase practical AI applications in agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, and climate resilience, aligning with Nigeria’s development and digital transformation priorities.
Singh emphasized that unlike traditional conferences, the summit is designed as an action-oriented platform, expected to deliver concrete outcomes such as a Leaders’ Declaration and multilateral cooperation frameworks. He urged strong Nigerian participation from government, private sector, and academia, highlighting opportunities for joint research, open-source tools, skills development, and start-up partnerships.