Finland PM Orpo to attend AI Impact Summit, meet PM Modi in India

Prime Minister Orpo will attend the India AI Impact Summit hosted on February 19. He will have a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on February 18.

The Finnish Prime Minister Orpo is accompanied by a business delegation composed of representatives of 22 Finnish companies, a release said.

In addition to Heads of State and Government, the AI Impact Summit will bring together International organisations, stakeholders, AI experts, and dozens of leading AI companies from around the world. The summit provides an opportunity to strengthen the shared understanding of the principles of global AI governance and to build international cooperation on the theme. Prime Minister Orpo also participated in the AI Action Summit in Paris in 2025.

"At the summit, we will highlight Finland's strengths in the fields of AI policy and innovation. Finland has world-class expertise in AI and the potential to lead the way in its use. At the same time, we will also promote the safe and responsible use of AI. Geopolitical and economic competition keeps growing, and Finland must be highly active in international technology issues. Besides cooperation among the like-minded countries, we must also seek a common understanding with other countries," Prime Minister Orpo said, according to a release.

At the India AI Impact Summit, Prime Minister Orpo will deliver Finland's address, visit various country pavilions and speak at the side events organised by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). The agenda also includes a dinner for invited guests hosted by Prime Minister Modi and other high-level meetings.

The release said that India is gaining an increasingly prominent role in the world. Finland and India have good relations, which continue to grow even closer. The commercial and economic interests are very strong, and there is a lot of potential related to these.

Finland's new Consulate General inaugurated in Mumbai in 2022 was a major contribution to deepening the relations and responding to India's growing geopolitical and geoeconomic role, the release said.

"We want to continue the work towards even closer cooperation between our countries, with a particular focus on the commonly defined fields - digitalisation and sustainability. Our aim is to strengthen the new strategic partnership in these fields. The EU-India Free Trade Agreement concluded in January opens significant opportunities to further improve our relations," Prime Minister Orpo said.

The negotiations on the EU-India Free Trade Agreement came to a successful conclusion on January 27, 2026. The negotiations had been in progress since 2007, with some interruptions. The agreement improves the access of European companies to the large and growing Indian markets and it has a key role in strengthening the partnership between the EU and India, the release said.

It said the business delegation has representatives from Aquamec Ltd., Business Finland, CSC-IT Center for Science, ECHO Engineering Oy, Edugametion Oy, Elematic Oyj, Europe-Asia Roundtable Sessions Ltd., Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence / University of Helsinki, Flow Systems Oy, Helsinki Partners, ICEYE Oy, KONE Oyj, Nokia , Nordes Oy, Odd Latent Oy, ProVerse Interactive, Puustelli Group Oy, QMill Oy, ReOrbit, Routa Digital Oy, Verona Shelters Group and Wartsila Oyj Abp.

India is set to host the India AI Impact Summit from February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, bringing together governments, industry leaders, researchers, startups, students and citizens from across the world. The Summit is envisioned as a pivotal global platform to shape a future-oriented agenda for inclusive, responsible and impactful AI and aims to move beyond high-level discussions and deliver tangible outcomes that can support economic growth, social development and sustainable use of AI.

The Summit will be structured around three core pillars--People, Planet and Progress--with discussions focusing on employment and skilling, sustainable and energy-efficient AI, and economic as well as social development. Seven thematic working groups, co-chaired by representatives from the Global North and Global South, will present concrete deliverables, including proposals for AI Commons, trusted AI tools, shared compute infrastructure and sector-specific compendiums of AI use cases.

Participants will also gain insights into how AI is impacting various professions and industries, the new skills required in the evolving job market, opportunities for startups to engage with investors and partners, and the role of AI in supporting farmers, small businesses and service providers.

Sessions will address AI safety, governance, ethical use, data protection and India's approach to sovereign AI, including the development of indigenous foundation models for strategic sectors.

A key component of the Summit will be the AI Impact Expo, which will showcase practical applications of AI across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, climate action, energy efficiency and accessibility. These demonstrations are intended to help citizens understand how AI can solve real-world problems and improve service delivery.

The Summit will also highlight national skilling initiatives such as "Yuva AI for All", a free and accessible course designed to build basic AI awareness among students and professionals.

- ANI