India's AI summit has global importance, says Bhutanese PM Tobgay

Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay praised India's AI Impact Summit as having 'global importance,' calling the country a centre for the AI revolution. He also highlighted potential collaboration in linking clean energy to power AI infrastructure.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on Thursday said that the AI Impact Summit being hosted in India carries "global importance" and not just importance in global south, describing the country as a rapidly emerging centre of technological growth and the artificial intelligence revolution.

Speaking to ANI, he said, "I'm delighted to be in India to take part in the AI Impact Summit. You may say this is the first summit to be held in the global south. This is what I've heard from several people: that this is the first time that the AI summit is being held in the global south. Yeah, that is true, but more than the global south, the AI summit being held in India really has global importance, not just the global south." He added that India was "quickly becoming the centre of technological growth and the AI revolution".

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tobgay said he was "deeply grateful" to the Indian Prime Minister for the invitation to participate in the summit.

India-Bhutan Cooperation

Highlighting the long-standing ties between India and Bhutan, the Bhutanese PM said the two countries have enjoyed "very close and successful cooperation" across a wide range of sectors, particularly in renewable energy development. "For decades, India and Bhutan have worked very closely, and we have enjoyed the support of the Indian government to develop our hydropower," he said.

Future Collaboration in Clean Energy and AI

Looking ahead, the Bhutanese Prime Minister outlined potential collaboration in linking clean energy and emerging technologies. He noted that hydropower, which is clean, green and renewable, would be crucial for powering energy-intensive infrastructure such as data centres and AI computing facilities.

"Going forward, I see partnerships in two related areas: one, enhancing the developmentof our partnership to harness our fast-flowing rivers to generate clean green renewable energy and two, using this clean green renewable energy in Bhutan, in the Gelephu Mindfulness City, to achieve our common objectives in terms of artificial intelligence," Tobgay said. He added that such cooperation would further strengthen India-Bhutan ties while contributing to sustainable technological development in the region, with the use of AI.

PMs Modi and Tobgay Hold Talks

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Tobgay on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. PM Modi described the meeting as "outstanding," stating that India-Bhutan friendship continues to expand into new and transformative domains.

In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, "The meeting with PM Tshering Tobgay was outstanding. We discussed how we can harness the power of AI for global good and in harmony with principles of sustainability. Our enduring India-Bhutan friendship, rooted in mutual trust, goodwill and close ties between our two peoples, continues to guide our partnership into new and transformative domains."(ANI)

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