The Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI), in collaboration with the Embassy of India in Nepal, hosted a discussion on strengthening bilateral cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies, bringing together business leaders, policymakers, academics and technology professionals.

The session, titled India-Nepal Partnership in Emerging Technologies: Exploring Bilateral Opportunities for AI Collaboration, featured a keynote address by Pratyush Kumar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sarvam AI, a South Asian company developing generative AI and local-language technology solutions.

Speaking at the event, NICCI President Sunil KC stressed the need to deepen technology-driven economic cooperation between Nepal and India. He encouraged Sarvam AI to explore partnerships and investment opportunities in Nepal, saying such collaborations could help attract technology-focused foreign direct investment and promote knowledge transfer.

Suman Shekhar, First Secretary (Commerce) at the Embassy of India in Nepal, highlighted growing cooperation between the two countries in digital capacity building, startup development and innovation, reaffirming support for greater engagement between Indian and Nepali stakeholders.

In his keynote, Kumar underscored the importance of building AI systems tailored to local languages and regional needs. He said emerging economies should move beyond merely adopting foreign-developed technologies and develop their own AI capabilities suited to domestic populations and use cases.

He identified joint research initiatives, training programmes and startup ecosystem exchanges as promising areas for India-Nepal cooperation. Bindu Nath Lohani, Chancellor of the University of Nepal, also emphasised the role of higher education institutions in preparing talent and advancing AI research.

Participants discussed AI adoption, governance, talent development and regional collaboration during an interactive question-and-answer session.