New Delhi: Spanish President Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon arrived in India to attend the AI Impact Summit 2026 and was welcomed by Minister of State for Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Singh.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote in a post on X, “Spanish President Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon is welcome to the India-AI Impact Summit. He was warmly welcomed by Minister of State for Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Singh. President Sanchez’s visit will further boost the ongoing India-Spain celebration of the biennial of culture, tourism, and AI.”
The India AI Impact Summit 2026, being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, began on February 16 and will continue until February 20, 2026. The summit brought together government policymakers, industry AI experts, academics, technology innovators, and civil society from around the world in New Delhi to advance the global discussion on artificial intelligence. The India AI Impact Summit is the first global AI summit to be held in the Global South. Its objective is to reflect on the transformative potential of AI, which aligns with the national vision of “Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya” (All’s Well-Being, All’s Happiness) and the global principle of AI for Humanity.
More than 110 countries, 30 international organizations, including approximately 20 heads of state or government, and approximately 45 ministers will participate in the summit. The AI Summit is part of a transformative international process aimed at strengthening global cooperation on AI’s governance, safety, and societal impact.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is based on three pillars: People, Planet, and Progress. These principles outline the core principles of global cooperation on artificial intelligence. They aim to promote human-centric AI that protects rights and ensures equitable benefits for all societies, environmentally sustainable development of AI, and inclusive economic and technological progress. India and Spain have enjoyed good relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1956.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an official bilateral visit to Spain on May 30-31, 2017. The Prime Ministers of India and Spain met during the G-20 Summits in 2018 and 2021 and spoke by telephone on February 15, 2023, expressing confidence in the growing relationship between the two countries. The Ministry of External Affairs met with Finance Minister José Manuel Alberes in New York in September 2024 and during the UNGA in September 2022.
Finance Minister Alberes made a bilateral visit to India in June 2022. Alberes visited India twice in 2023 to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in March 2023 and the G20 Summit in September 2023. Teresa Ribera, Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenges, visited India from February 7 to 9, 2024.
