Modi, UAE Crown Prince Deepen AI Partnership at India AI Impact Summit 2026

On February 19, 2026, in the context of the India AI Impact Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conducted a bilateral meeting in New Delhi. The Bharat Mandapam meeting was devoted to the further collaboration in Artificial Intelligence and new technologies. One of the results was a final term sheet between C-DAC of India and G42 and MBZUAI in the UAE to instal a supercomputer cluster as part of the AI India Mission. The two leaders also assessed the advancement in defence, trade, security, education, and investment relationships and re-established the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

India-UAE Strategic Talks There to Collaborate with AI

The prime minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan both discussed Artificial Intelligence as the key element of their conversation. The leaders promoted AI as a disruptive technology that has the potential to create a smarter and collaborative future. Their discussions were in line with the overarching goals of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 that is informed by the three tenets including People, Planet, and Progress.

The completion of an agreement between the Centre of Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in India and the G42 and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in the UAE was also a significant highlight. This contract will enable the implementation of a supercomputer cluster in India as a part of the AI India Mission. Such action initiates the transition between the discussion and physical infrastructure partnership, enhancing technological autonomy and increasing the bilateral confidence in high-tech computing ecosystems.

Broad Based Strategic Alliance Cuts Across Industries

In addition to the AI, the two sides were happy with increasing collaboration in the fields of defence, security, trade, investment, and education. The India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has over the past years grown consistently transitioning out of energy-based cooperation to diversified engagement in the areas of innovation and digital infrastructure.

The leaders discussed the progress in current projects and stressed the importance of shortening the implementation schedules. UAE has become one of the most important partners of India in terms of investment whereas India has been one of the major trading partners of the Gulf nation. Technology is being incorporated into strategic dialogues more along with geopolitical alignment, a wider regional re-calibration.

The collaboration between AI infrastructure and defence and other economic cooperation seems to be taking the form of a multidimensional framework. According to the observers, this pattern of cooperation makes both of the countries competitive in the international arena of AI and digital governance.

India AI Impact Summit 2026 Grabs International Interest

The bilateral meeting was held at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi between February 16 and 20. The summit will be the inaugural global AI conference that is hosted in the Global South in order to reflect the Indian desire to influence the global technology governance, which is inclusive.

The conference has had more than 20 Heads of State and 60 ministers and over 500 global AI champions. Key players include names like Sundar Pichai of Google and Sam Altman of OpenAI in the role of CEOs. Talks revolve around responsible use of AI and mitigation of the climate, ethics and fair growth.

Through such a high profile summit and strategic partnerships such as the UAE one India is making it clear that it intends to move beyond being an AI consumer to co-architect of global AI infrastructure and standards.