(Phnom Penh): India will host the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from 16-20 February 2026. Guided by the theme, “Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya” (Welfare for All, Happiness of All), the AI Impact Summit will provide a platform for a global conversation from theoretical AI dialogue and regulatory frameworks to demonstrable, real-world impact. The event promises to be a historic inflection point for the Global South beyond what it will achieve as a technological gathering.

The AI Impact Summit 2026 will build on the momentum created from previous Summits such as the UK AI Safety Summit, the AI Seoul Summit and the France AI Action Summit (which India co-Chaired). The Summit will advance new deliverables and priorities and move towards concrete and tangible progress in global AI cooperation.

The Three Sutras: People, Planet, and Progress

The summit is anchored on three foundational pillars that resonate deeply with the shared aspirations of both India and Cambodia:

- People: Ensuring AI serves diverse human needs while preserving dignity and inclusivity.
- Planet: Aligning innovation with environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
- Progress: Aligning the benefits of AI with global development priorities and equitable access to opportunity.

The deliberations at the AI Impact Summit while being guided by the three Sutras will be organised around seven interconnected Chakras namely Human Capital, Inclusion for Social Empowerment, Safe and Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation, and Efficiency, Science, Democratizing AI Resources and AI for Economic Growth and Social Good. At the Summit, attempts will be made to mobilise international collaboration to translate the broader principles of People, Planet, and Progress into concrete areas of action.

Today, Artificial Intelligence stands at the frontier of innovation and transformation. India recognizes AI’s unique capacity to bridge divides: amplify growth, enable social progress and deliver solutions at scale for people and the planet. Our core philosophy is encapsulated in “AI for All” that is grounded in ethical, human-centric advancement, and driven by the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”(Together with all, development for all).

India’s decision to host a global AI summit of this scale for the first time in the Global South is a reflection of India’s commitment to democratizing technology. The Summit will go beyond discussions and deliberations and will focus on solutions by featuring over 200 sector-specific AI models in health, agriculture, and education, designed to address the unique challenges faced by developing nations.

A Platform for Global Innovators

The summit’s reach is expected to be truly global, with over 35,000 registrations from over 100 countries The summit is expected to see the participation at the level of Heads of Government, Ministers, more than 40 CEOs of leading global and Indian companies, and around 500 prominent figures from the global AI ecosystem, including innovators, researchers and chief technology officers. Cambodia is also expected to have a high level participation at the Summit.

Highlighting the scale of engagement, the summit will feature a startup showcase involving over 500 AI startups and host nearly 500 sessions alongside the main programme, making it one of the most comprehensive global convenings on artificial intelligence.

Preparatory activities for the summit have also witnessed significant traction. More than 500 pre-Summit events have already been conducted across India and globally. In Phnom Penh, a Pre-Summit Event held in December 2025 received enthusiastic participation from stakeholders underscoring the immense potential for collaboration between the two countries in the field of AI. In the immediate future, India and Cambodia will also step up collaborations in capacity building in the field of AI with two batches of officials from Cambodia participating in Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes to be conducted by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), India.

India and Cambodia share a profound civilizational bond that has long focused on human development. As the world looks towards New Delhi this February, we invite our Cambodian partners—from government leaders to young tech visionaries—to join us in shaping an ethical, inclusive, and sustainable AI future that leaves no one behind.

This article was written by Vanlalvawna Bawitlung, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Views expressed are personal.
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