Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The Prime Minister held a meeting with the President of Spain Pedro Sanchez, at Hyderabad House on February 18. Both leaders discussed a wide range of issues aimed at deepening the India-Spain partnership.
PM Modi conveyed his appreciation for Spain’s consistent support for strong India-EU relations.
In a social media post, PM Modi said they discussed ways to boost the India-Spain friendship, especially in areas such as defence, security, technology and more.
He said the historic Free Trade Agreement with the EU will have a very positive impact on the economic partnership with Spain and provide new opportunities to the people of both nations. He added that both nations are marking 2026 as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism and AI. PM Modi said this will deepen people-to-people linkages. He expressed happiness at the big delegation of universities who have come to India, saying this will go a long way in connecting people.
PM Modi also held talks with the Prime Minister of Finland Antti Petteri Orpo. They discussed cooperation in sustainability and digitalisation, AI research, ethical innovation and how Indian talent can strengthen bilateral collaboration. He commended Finland’s efforts as an emerging innovation player in AI.
The Prime Minister said India and Finland aim to double trade, thus giving a strong boost to economic linkages. They also talked about enhancing cooperation in futuristic technologies like 6G, innovation, clean energy, biofuels, and the circular economy.
PM Modi also held talks with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, on the sidelines of the Summit. The two leaders discussed avenues to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, AI, fintech, education, agriculture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
PM Modi also held bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic.
He met the President of Estonia Alar Karis. Both leaders reviewed various facets of India-Estonia relations, underlining the potential for further cooperation in digital technologies and deepening people-to-people ties.
PM Modi held bilateral discussions with his Kazakh counterpart, Olzhas Bektenov. The leaders discussed ways to strengthen strategic partnership and deepen bilateral cooperation in all sectors, including trade, defence and security, connectivity, energy, emerging technologies, and people-to-people ties.
PM Modi also met with his Bhutanese counterpart, Tshering Tobgay. They expressed support for harnessing AI for inclusive and human-centric progress and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in AI and digital tech space.