AI pre-summit 2026: People, planet, and progress shape Indonesia–India cooperation toward ethical AI and a safer digital future

• by MSC
• Jan 27, 2026
• 4 min

MSC co-hosted the pre-summit event for the AI Impact Summit 2026, which is scheduled to be held in Delhi in February. The pre-summit, held in Jakarta, sought to advance India–Indonesia collaboration on ethical, human-centered AI and strengthen public services, inclusion, and sustainable development.

21st January 2026, Jakarta: The official pre-summit event of the AI Impact Summit 2026, titled “People, Planet, Progress: The India–Indonesia Dialogue on Inclusive AI,” convened in Jakarta. The event was the result of a collaborative effort by MSC (MicroSave Consulting), the Embassy of India in Jakarta, the India Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (IndCham), and India’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) under the NITI Aayog. 

The event brought together several participants, such as senior government officials, industry leaders, global development partners, and technology experts from both nations, to deepen cooperation on responsible, human-centric, and ethically governed artificial intelligence systems. This dialogue laid the foundation for the global summit in New Delhi. 

The dialogue highlighted strong alignment between India and Indonesia’s national artificial intelligence (AI) priorities. India emphasizes responsible innovation, alongside multilingual and accessible AI technologies through the people, planet, and progress framework, which prioritizes the integration of these tools with digital public infrastructure to deliver equitable access at scale.  

Indonesia’s National AI Strategy (2020–2045) and its AI ethics framework highlight trust, transparency, talent development, and accountability to integrate AI across key national priority sectors. These sectors include health, governance, education, food security, and mobility. Both nations recognize AI as a transformative enabler to strengthen public service delivery, expand economic opportunity, and enhance resilience for women, informal workers, as well as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

In his opening remarks, the Ambassador of India to Indonesia, Sandeep Chakravorty, emphasized that AI plays a strategic role in advancing social good, including improving public services, expanding financial inclusion, and strengthening needs-based social protection. 

“This dialogue is not only about technology, but also about concrete steps to build an inclusive and sustainable AI ecosystem ahead of the India–AI Impacts Summit 2026 in New Delhi,” he said. While India can share its human expertise and technological advancements in digital space, Indonesia can support it with its network capacities.  

In the same vein, Vikram Sinha, President Director & CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, underscored the importance of cross-industry collaboration as a key enabler for translating AI policy visions into tangible economic impact. He views AI system interoperability, Indonesia–India business partnerships, and the strengthening of startup and MSME ecosystems as critical foundations to ensure that AI development goes beyond technological innovation and drives inclusive, efficient, and competitive economic growth, with human learning being in the lead, not just in the loop. 

Meanwhile, the Vice Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs (KOMDIGI), Nezar Patria, highlighted that the partnership between Indonesia and India presents significant opportunities for the development of artificial intelligence oriented toward the public interest. 

“Digital economic growth in both countries presents a strategic opportunity to harness AI in a safe, trustworthy, and human-centered manner to address public challenges, ranging from financial inclusion to climate resilience,” he said. 

He added that strengthening governance frameworks and investing in foundational AI infrastructure are key to ensuring that AI innovation develops inclusively and delivers broad-based benefits to society. He highlighted the scope of closer cooperation in this area exists in the MoU signed between India and Indonesia during Prabowo’s visit to India in early 2025 for which he looks forward to his visit to Delhi for the upcoming summit.  

Anna Roy, Programme Director and Mission Director at the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), highlighted how India seeks to empower women-led innovation in AI. She noted that inclusive AI ecosystems must ensure equitable access to skills, tools, and opportunities for women and young innovators across the region. 

The event also featured strategic panel discussions with policymakers, private sector innovators, philanthropic institutions, and multilateral development organizations to exchange perspectives on inclusive AI. The first panel explored how South–South collaboration can strengthen AI innovation ecosystems through interoperable data frameworks, digital public goods, and deeper research–industry linkages. The second panel examined AI’s potential to empower the workforce and MSMEs, which highlights the integration of AI with reskilling pathways, digital inclusion strategies, and social protection systems.  

In support of this, Andianto Haryoko, Director of Infrastructure, Digital Ecosystem, and Digital Security at the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), emphasized that AI and digital transformation are key enablers of Indonesia’s medium- and long-term development agendas. She noted that “AI must support our economic transformation and strengthen public service delivery. Our priority is to ensure that digital progress benefits all Indonesians, especially women, informal workers, and MSMEs who form the backbone of our economy.” 

Andianto highlighted the importance of data integration, harmonized digital public services, talent development, and support for domestic innovation to ensure that AI contributes to inclusive and equitable national growth. 

The event concluded with closing remarks from Grace Retnowati, Partner and Country Head of Southeast Asia at MSC. As a member of the Alliance for Inclusive AI, MSC (MicroSave Consulting) brings practice-based experience in advancing the responsible adoption of AI, aligned with the event’s emphasis on people-centred innovation and sustainable impact. She emphasized MSC’s commitment to human-centered and inclusive AI across the region: “AI’s true value emerges when it advances human dignity, expands opportunity, and lifts communities. MSC will continue to collaborate with governments and industry actors to ensure AI systems are responsibly designed and broadly accessible.” 

The pre-summit event highlighted a critical priority. AI systems require advanced digital capabilities, but they must also be equitable, transparent, gender-responsive, and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. These insights and collaborations developed in Jakarta will directly support the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. As a result, concrete commitments and collaborative frameworks will be formalized to advance AI that works for people, planet, and progress. 

This was first published in “Indian Embassy Jakarta” on 21st January 2026.