Sweden's Deputy PM Praises India's Sovereign AI as "True Inclusion" Model

Addressing the AI Impact Summit 2026, Busch drew parallels between Sweden's strategic AI push and India's large-scale digital ambitions, underscoring the potential for deeper collaboration between the two countries.

"Sweden offers the ability to move from strategy to execution. In the Nordics (Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark), we are now building AI gigafactories, manufacturing intelligence at an industrial scale with near-zero carbon energy," she said.

Busch highlighted the strengths underpinning Sweden's AI ecosystem. "We combine clean power, political stability, rule of law, technological sophistication, and a culture of trust. We see ourselves as a sort of pathfinder, helping define the routes that will shape global AI infrastructure for decades," she said.

She said Sweden has made significant financial commitments to artificial intelligence during the current parliamentary term." We have committed a substantial amount of funds to AI research, AI development, and implementation, therefore ensuring that Sweden seizes the economic and societal benefits of this transformative technology."

Building on that foundation, she announced the rollout of a new national AI strategy. "This strategy will outline concrete steps that will steer Sweden towards sustained AI leadership. Our strategy not only demonstrates the scale of current commitment but also maps a path forward for Sweden's future. And we have launched an 'AI-verkstad' (an AI workshop) to help the public sector adopt AI safely and efficiently, because trust is built not by slogans, but by implementation," she said.

Turning to India, Busch praised India's approach to sovereign AI development. "India understands scale. India understands development. Your investments in sovereign AI models ensure that AI speaks all of your languages, reflects your society, and serves your people. This is what real inclusion truly looks like," she said.

"When 1.4 billion people gain access to AI tools that empower farmers, small businesses, teachers, and doctors, that is not just innovation, that is transformation," she added.

Busch said that partnerships between India and Sweden bring together complementary strengths."Partnerships between India and Sweden combine scale with engineering excellence, market dynamism with institutional trust. Together, we can ensure AI strengthens democracy, drives sustainable growth, and expands opportunity," she said.

Emphasising the need for public trust in emerging technologies, Busch remarked, "People fear what they do not understand. But what people understand and see value in, they will defend. Our tasks as leaders are not merely to regulate AI; it is to make it legitimate, to make it understandable, and most importantly, to make it beneficial."

"If we succeed, AI will not be feared like the printing press; it will be embraced like electricity, invisible, indispensable, but empowering. Let us shape this new industry together: open, competitive, democratic, and inclusive. The future of AI must empower our people and strengthen our shared prosperity. I look forward to doing this together with India," the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister said.

Earlier, Commerce and Industry Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday met with Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch to highlight India's rise as a "premier global investment destination", reaffirming the collaboration commitment between nations under the recent India-EU Free Trade Agreement, as its discussion concluded last month.

The minister took to his official 'X' handle to share details about the meeting, emphasising that the skilled youth of India, combined with Sweden's innovation prowess, makes them "natural partners".

"A productive interaction with Swedish Deputy Prime Minister @BuschEbba today. Highlighted India's rise as a premier global investment destination, backed by a vast market and an investor-friendly FDI ecosystem. We reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening collaboration in green tech, R and D, and advancing engagement under the India-EU FTA framework. India's skilled youth and Sweden's innovation strength make us natural partners for sustainable growth," he wrote on X.

Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister arrived in the national capital on Wednesday for the Global AI Impact Summit.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is being held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. It started on February 16 and will run up to February 20, 2026. The Summit brought together government policymakers, industry AI experts, academicians, technology innovators and civil society from across the world at New Delhi to advance global discussions on artificial intelligence.

The India AI Impact Summit, the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South, reflects on the transformative potential of AI, aligning with the national vision of "Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya" (welfare for all, happiness for all) and the global principle of AI for Humanity.

- ANI