India and the UAE: Shaping a human-centric AI agenda together

As the world stands at the threshold of an era defined by Artificial Intelligence (AI), 2026 marks a pivotal moment in global cooperation on this transformative technology. The India-AI Impact Summit 2026, to be held in New Delhi from 16-20 February, offers an unprecedented platform for nations, innovators, industry leaders, researchers, and civil society to align on a shared vision for responsible, inclusive, and people-centric AI.

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) share not only a deep and time-honoured friendship but a strategic partnership that is increasingly anchored in cutting-edge technologies. Our collaboration in AI reflects mutual aspirations to harness innovation for social good, economic prosperity, and sustainable development.

AI is rapidly reshaping India’s development trajectory, emerging as a powerful catalyst for inclusive growth, innovation, and global competitiveness. As a nation with vast human capital, a thriving digital ecosystem, and strong public digital infrastructure, India is uniquely positioned to harness AI to address its developmental challenges while accelerating economic transformation.

At the heart of India’s AI journey lies the vision of “AI for All” — using technology not merely for efficiency, but for social impact. In healthcare, AI-powered diagnostics are improving early detection of diseases, enabling telemedicine in remote areas, and supporting doctors with data-driven insights. In agriculture, AI tools help farmers predict weather patterns, optimise crop yields, and manage pests, thereby enhancing productivity and income security for millions of rural households.

India’s education sector is also being transformed through AI-enabled personalised learning, adaptive assessments, and digital classrooms that bridge gaps in access and quality. Similarly, in governance, AI is strengthening public service delivery by improving targeting of welfare schemes, detecting fraud, and enabling faster, more transparent decision-making.

A key enabler of this transformation is India’s robust Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), including platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI, and the India Stack. These systems provide the data, scale, and interoperability required for AI applications to flourish responsibly. Combined with a vibrant startup ecosystem and world-class technical talent, India is fast becoming a global hub for AI innovation.

Equally important is India’s emphasis on ethical, inclusive, and human-centric AI. Policymakers are actively working to ensure that AI systems are transparent, fair, and accountable, while safeguarding privacy and preventing digital exclusion. India’s leadership in global forums reflects its commitment to shaping AI governance that benefits the Global South.

As India integrates AI across sectors, the focus remains clear: technology must empower people, enhance livelihoods, and support sustainable development. By aligning innovation with societal needs, India is not just adopting AI — it is transforming itself with AI, setting an example of how emerging technologies can be harnessed for the collective good.

The India-AI Impact Summit is designed around three core pillars: people, planet, and progress. This thematic framework places human welfare, environmental sustainability, and broad-based socio-economic advancement at the centre of AI discourse.

With participation expected from more than a hundred countries, world leaders, heads of state, top CEOs, and influential technologists, the summit is projected to steer global cooperation towards not just AI regulation but AI implementation that produces tangible public value.

Discussions will range from governance frameworks and ethical responsibility to concrete deployment strategies across sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and public services. The aim is straightforward yet profound: to democratise AI by ensuring access, equity and positive impact for all societies, and particularly for the Global South.

The summit’s influence is already being felt through a rich calendar of pre-summit events held across the world over the past months — reflecting the global appetite to shape an inclusive AI future.

In Geneva, an expert dialogue convened by the Centre for Policy Research and Governance, the South Centre, and IT for Change brought together practitioners and policy specialists to deliberate on equitable access to AI and the need to bridge the digital divide.

At IIT Delhi, a flagship pre-event hosted by AI4India in partnership with Intel India, BharatGen, and the Innovation Hub Foundation of IIT Delhi focused on “Inclusive AI for India,” spotlighting how AI can advance innovation in Indian industries while safeguarding ethical and societal values.

Closer to home in the UAE and GCC region, the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government convened an invite-only high-level dialogue titled Reskilling Societies for the Age of AI. This session brought government, academia, and industry voices together to explore strategies for building AI-ready human capital across the Middle East and Global South.

These events did not merely precede the summit; they contributed to shaping its rich agenda. Papers, policy insights, and actionable recommendations from these dialogues will feed directly into the discussions in New Delhi, ensuring that the summit’s outcomes are grounded in multi-regional experience and diverse stakeholder inputs.

India and the UAE have evolved from longstanding economic partners to strategic collaborators in the AI landscape.

In January 2026, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, paid an official visit to New Delhi. During this visit, the two leaders reaffirmed the shared commitment to deepen cooperation in advanced technologies including AI, alongside traditional pillars such as energy, defence, and trade.

A key highlight of this engagement was the announcement of joint initiatives to boost AI infrastructure and capabilities. Notably, both nations agreed to explore the establishment of a supercomputing cluster and expanded data centre operations in India — a venture that will support advanced AI research, accelerate model training, and facilitate commercial applications across sectors.

This collaboration reflects a strategic alignment: India’s deep reservoir of human capital and rapidly expanding AI ecosystem combined with the UAE’s cutting-edge innovation environment, investment capabilities, and global market reach.

In an increasingly interconnected digital era, such partnerships hold the promise of creating cross-border innovation corridors. For instance, the recently announced UAE–India Web3 & AI Business Corridor initiative seeks to establish joint working groups, pilot programmes, regulatory sandboxes, and frameworks for talent mobility and startup growth.

At the institutional level, India and the UAE have a history of collaboration: dating back to the early days of their AI engagement, including the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an India–UAE Artificial Intelligence Bridge aimed at promoting innovation, startups, and investment ties between the two nations.

What distinguishes the India–UAE partnership in AI is a shared commitment to responsible innovation that serves society.

India has championed the notion that AI must be anchored in values: fairness, transparency, inclusivity, and human welfare. Its forthcoming summit builds on this ethos, deliberately forging global consensus that AI should empower individuals and communities — not replace them.

Likewise, the UAE has embedded AI into its national development strategies, with initiatives that promote AI adoption across government services and industry sectors. The nation’s position as a global AI hub is supported by efforts to create enabling environments for innovation, regulation, and responsible deployment.

Together, our nations embody the principle that technological progress and ethical stewardship must go hand in hand.

The AI Impact Summit presents vast opportunities for collaboration:

As the India-AI Impact Summit approaches, the world looks to exemplars of partnership that transcend transactional ties and aspire to transform lives. The India–UAE relationship stands as one such model — rooted in deep mutual respect, forward-looking policy, and a shared belief in the positive power of technology.

We are not merely preparing for a conversation about AI; we are charting a course for global cooperation that ensures Artificial Intelligence becomes a force for human dignity, inclusive growth, and sustainable prosperity. In collaboration with the UAE, India looks forward to building a future in which AI enriches lives across continents and communities.

Satish Kumar Sivan is the Consul General of India to Dubai and the Northern Emirates