AI Collaboration Across Borders_ India–Israel Innovation Roundtable

20 Feb 2026 10:00h - 11:00h

AI Collaboration Across Borders_ India–Israel Innovation Roundtable

Session at a glance

Summary

This discussion focused on the potential for artificial intelligence collaboration between India and Israel, featuring government officials and industry leaders from both countries at an AI summit. The conversation explored how the two nations can leverage their complementary strengths to advance AI applications across various sectors including scientific research, education, agriculture, and healthcare.


Israeli representatives emphasized their country’s advantages in research and development, rapid decision-making, and integration of AI into government processes, while acknowledging India’s vast skilled workforce and potential for scale. Indian participants highlighted their country’s role as a natural testbed for social innovation, with its large population and diverse contexts providing opportunities to develop frugal, scalable solutions that could benefit the global market.


Key areas of collaboration discussed included joint research funding, academic partnerships, and the development of AI-driven services to support scientific research. The education sector emerged as a particularly promising area, with both countries sharing similar visions for personalized learning systems and facing common challenges in teacher training and scaling educational innovations.


The panelists emphasized the importance of building trust and transparency in AI deployment, with government officials stressing that public trust is essential for successful AI adoption. They discussed existing initiatives like the Dristi program, which brings Israeli deep-tech startups to Indian incubators, and proposed new models for building solutions together from the outset rather than partnering later in the development process.


The discussion concluded with recognition that this collaboration could extend beyond bilateral benefits to serve global purposes, particularly in addressing climate change and promoting peace through technological innovation.


Keypoints

Major Discussion Points:

AI-driven bilateral collaboration opportunities: The discussion focused extensively on how India and Israel can partner in artificial intelligence applications across multiple sectors, leveraging Israel’s technological innovation capabilities and India’s large talent pool, market scale, and cost-effective solutions.


Educational innovation and research partnerships: Significant attention was given to collaboration in education technology, particularly around personalized learning systems, teacher training for AI integration, and joint research initiatives. Both countries identified shared challenges and complementary strengths in educational AI implementation.


Digital infrastructure and governance frameworks: The conversation addressed the intersection of digital public infrastructure with AI development, emphasizing the need for transparent, trust-based governance frameworks and responsible AI deployment that prioritizes human-centered solutions over pure technological advancement.


Social innovation and global impact: Panelists discussed using AI for social good, particularly in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and climate change, with India serving as a testbed for scalable solutions that could benefit other developing regions globally.


Strategic geopolitical partnership: The discussion highlighted the evolution of India-Israel relations from traditional cooperation areas (defense, agriculture, water conservation) toward becoming strategic partners in the global AI revolution, with potential for triangulated collaborations involving other countries.


Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to explore and establish concrete pathways for India-Israel collaboration in artificial intelligence, moving beyond theoretical possibilities to identify specific mechanisms, initiatives, and frameworks for partnership across government, academia, and private sector domains.


Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a consistently positive, collaborative, and forward-looking tone throughout. It began with ceremonial appreciation and diplomatic courtesy, evolved into substantive technical and policy discussions, and concluded with aspirational yet practical commitments. The tone was characterized by mutual respect, shared vision, and genuine enthusiasm for partnership opportunities, with speakers frequently acknowledging each other’s strengths and expressing gratitude for the collaboration potential.


Speakers

Speakers from the provided list:


Erez Askal – Role/title not specified in transcript, appears to be from Israeli delegation


Moderator – Session moderator facilitating the panel discussion


Sanjay Kumar – Special Chief Secretary, IT, ENC, and Industries and Commerce from the government of Telangana; involved in developing advanced therapeutics, AI-driven drug discovery, and strengthening the IT and manufacturing ecosystem in Telangana


Nir Dagan – Head of Innovation Data and Artificial Intelligence Department, Israel National Digital Agency


Meirav Zerbib – Director of Research and Development Department, Ministry of Education, Israel


Sanjay Kadaveru – Founder and Chairman, Action for India, Sun Group; also works for a family office called the Sun Group


Victor Gosalker – Head of Horizon Line Division, Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Israel


Garima Ujjainia – Innovation Lead, NITI Aayog (Government of India)


Audience – Multiple audience members asking questions during Q&A session


Additional speakers:


None – all speakers mentioned in the transcript are included in the provided speakers names list.


Full session report

This AI summit panel brought together government officials and industry leaders from India and Israel to discuss collaboration opportunities in artificial intelligence. The session featured brief opening remarks followed by presentations from key stakeholders and audience questions.


Opening Context

Erez Askal provided brief opening remarks noting the historical relationship between India and Israel and the potential for AI collaboration between the two nations representing over a billion people combined.


Israeli Perspectives on Collaboration

Victor Gosalker emphasized Israel’s view of India as a global strategic partner, particularly within Israel’s Indo-Pacific strategy. He outlined collaboration opportunities in scientific research, proposing joint funding mechanisms for researchers implementing AI in science and India’s development of AI services to support scientific research in both countries. Victor also explained Israel’s “Scanning Horizon” mechanism for monitoring global trends and emerging technologies, noting that formal agreements with India were reached within six months of initial discussions.


Meirav Zerbib highlighted similarities between Israeli and Indian educational visions, noting that both countries are developing personalized learning systems and facing similar teacher training challenges. She mentioned that Israel has 2.3 million students compared to India’s 250 million, and referenced a recent conference in Israel that served as a pre-conference to this AI Impact Conference. Meirav observed that necessity-driven innovation in India often creates more innovative solutions than those developed in Israel or the United States.


Nir Dagan focused on digital transformation and public trust, emphasizing that AI should eliminate bureaucratic barriers while preserving essential human interactions. He stressed that “the most important coin for us is not rupees or dollars but public trust” and advocated for transparency in AI deployment, including citizens’ right to know when they’re interacting with AI systems and to request human intervention.


Indian Government and Industry Perspectives

Sanjay Kumar, Special Chief Secretary from Telangana government, positioned his state as India’s natural choice for Israeli partnerships, citing Telangana as the second-largest IT hub in India and the first state to launch a state-backed AI initiative through its AI hub and fund of funds programme.


Sanjay Kadaveru from Action for India and Sun Group proposed criteria for identifying “true AI startups”: access to proprietary data, deep domain expertise, and pursuit of solutions only possible with current AI technologies. He briefly mentioned “Gandhian engineering” principles and suggested evolving beyond existing models like the Dristi initiative toward building solutions together from the outset rather than forming partnerships after separate development phases.


Garima Ujjainia from NITI Aayog emphasized India’s dual role as both a massive customer base and testing ground for global technologies. She mentioned the India-Israel Innovation Fund (I4F) project already in progress and India’s participation in the PAK-Silica agreement.


Audience Engagement and Governance Questions

An audience member raised concerns about quantum computing and AI potentially falling into the hands of rogue actors, prompting discussion about global governance frameworks. The questioner suggested that both India and Israel, as minorities, bear special responsibility in AI development.


Nir Dagan responded by emphasizing transparency and public involvement as essential elements of trustworthy AI deployment. He also noted that the AI revolution poses challenges for humanity as AI systems outperform humans in traditionally human domains, suggesting India’s spiritual heritage could play a unique role in addressing these challenges.


Existing Collaboration Examples

Several ongoing initiatives were mentioned, including the Dristi program bringing Israeli deep-tech startups to Indian incubators like T-Hub, and the Green AI Learning Network (GRAIL) initiative focusing on AI technologies for climate change solutions.


Future Commitments

The discussion concluded with mentions of upcoming high-level visits, including a potential Prime Minister’s visit to Israel with a possible Ministry of Education delegation to follow, indicating political commitment to advancing cooperation.


Key Themes

The conversation revealed complementary strengths between the nations: Israel’s advantages in research and development and rapid decision-making, and India’s skilled workforce and potential for scale. Participants emphasized the importance of trust, transparency, and preserving human agency in AI development while exploring practical collaboration mechanisms across government, academia, and industry sectors.


Session transcript

Erez Askal

Hello, everyone. I’m so glad to be here, and welcome to everyone. Thank you for the organizers. The cooperation between India and Israel, of course, based on a deep relationship of values and the same challenges, because, you know, together we are a billion people, as you know. So, well. And now the issue is AI. I believe that in AI we have amazing opportunities together. Before, you know, Israel was going to lead to be one of the top three of the world. And we understand that we need allies. Before this week, I thought that we need to found allies. Now I can say that we found. And really amazing, amazing friends with a vision, with ambition, I feel like in Israel.

And I just want to say thank you to our friends in India. Of course, this amazing summit, but of a deep relationship and cooperation. And I just want to say that it’s just the beginning. So thank you very much. And good luck. Thank you.

Moderator

Now I’d love to invite Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, IT, ENC, and Industries and Commerce from the government of Telangana. He’s involved in developing advanced therapeutics, AI -driven drug discovery, and strengthening the IT and manufacturing ecosystem in Telangana. So please, I’d like to invite sir. Thank you.

Sanjay Kumar

What India as a country is doing. And you know, AI as such is, everybody knows that it’s evolving very fast, but it is, what impact it is having on geopolitical situation, I think it’s leading to political and economic realignment. So today, we are here with our Israeli friends, India’s and Israel’s friendship is quite deep, it runs into last seven, eight decades. We have active partnerships going on in the field of water conservation, defense, agriculture, and so on, smart cities also. In fact, I had visited, as from my earlier avatar in Ministry of Urban Development, for smart cities, I’ve seen a couple of places in Israel. So now it is the turn of AI, and given the deep relationship we have, I think we can work to… together and when it comes to work because I am representing right now my state Telangana where I am working as IT secretary there.

So when it comes to partnership in AI, Telangana is one of the leading hubs of IT AI and emerging technologies. We have been told that we are aware that Israel is one of the very few countries where AI has been integrated to government decision making and Israel is known for its speed, the way you take decisions, the way it is implemented. When you are looking at India, Telangana will be your natural choice because we are known for IT progress since last 3 -4 decades. We are I think second largest IT hub in India and plus we have, when it comes to AI, we are the first state which has launched a state backed initiative, AI hub which we call AI hub.

it ICOM and to help the startups we have recently launched our fund of funds we are one of the four five states we launched fund of funds which majority part of that will be focused on AI and IT I think there are a lot of opportunities where we can collaborate and work so my best wishes to all the panelists I think everybody will have a very fruitful discussion and after this I think everybody will get enlightened. Thank you.

Moderator

Thank you sir for laying out the foundation for what promises to be a very important discussion I would now like to introduce all the speakers here to come in accompanying us starting off with mr. Nir Dagan head of innovation data and artificial intelligence department Israel National Digital Agency then miss Meirav Zerbib director of of Research and Development Department, Ministry of Education, Israel. Then Mr. Sanjay Kadaveru, Founder and Chairman, Action for India, Sun Group. Mr. Victor Gosalker, Head of Horizon Line Division, Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Israel. And lastly, Ms. Garima Ujjainia , Innovation Lead, NITI Aayog . Now I’d like to hand over the reins to… Thank you. Thank you. Not because just you’re sitting beside me, but like, I will go in a very random order.

But just to make my point. So my first question to you is like very, very, and the foundational level is that is like, in what ways do you think like Israel and India can partner in applying artificial intelligence, specifically within scientific research, because science and technology is one of the major aspects that most of the, you know, emerging, globally, every countries are looking into. Including the impact summit, we had one of the working groups. science and technology. So with that, I would like to start the conversation with you.

Victor Gosalker

Thank you everyone. Hello to everyone this noon. Science has a research cycle. Research cycles mean we are starting with the question, the research question, truth generating the hypothesis, the literature, exploration, and of course the experimentation. The AI, implementation AI in the whole cycle of research accelerates the productivity of the science. So in Israel, we are just starting to think about how to implement in each stage of the process the AI. I think the collaboration with India can be in two aspects. One is to prove the mutual funds to give grants to researchers to implement AI in science. It’s obvious, but the second one is to develop in India, I think because in India there is the great advantage of well -educated researchers, specifically in AI.

I think India can develop specific services to support science, implementing AI in science in all stages, and support researchers in India and Israel in that way to encourage the research productivity.

Moderator

I think that’s excellent points. Two important aspects when it comes to collaboration is scientific research, how that can be like academic partnerships, and second one is the skilled labor. And also, as you mentioned, India has a lot of skilled labor, which is working within these innovations. Would you like to add something?

Victor Gosalker

Yes, I really agree with you. The real advantage of India is the skill regarding Israel, the skill and the well -educated people here. So the combination between those aspects give the opportunity to collaborate with Israel that has the advantage in the R &D and also the senior researchers in some fields.

Moderator

Thank you so much. I’ll circle back to you as we go forward. Now I would like to go to Mr. Sanjay. Sir, thank you so much for joining and great work that you have been driving through Action for India. So from the Indo -Israel perspective, how do you really see AI -driven social innovations evolving? And especially within some of the critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and all of those aspects. And how can we move forward from there?

Sanjay Kadaveru

Thank you. Firstly, it’s been one of a kind of an experience to be part of this AI impactor. In fact, I’ve been around the block. but I’ve never seen anything like this. So kudos to the Indian government and all the delegates from the 100 plus countries who’ve come here. It’s just been amazing learning, amazing people, amazing networking and all that. So kudos to all the organizers who made this session possible. I wear a couple of hats. One hat is as a founder and chairman of an organization called Action for India. So we’ve been around for more than a dozen years and we focus on working with social entrepreneurs, for -profit social entrepreneurs in sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, livelihood, fintech, cleantech.

So we identify these startups in the early stages of the scaling journeys and then connect them with resources to help scale the impact of the work, be it funding, mentors, technology resources, government nation makers, customers and what have you. So yeah, in this dozen years of work, there’s been… We have 1 ,000 social entrepreneurs we work with in some shape or form. And now, with everybody latching on to the AI bandwagon for all the right reasons, we’ve also put our hat in the ring. And so we’ve just recently launched an AI impact cohort. And so this is about a dozen entrepreneurs who are selected from about 100 applications in three sectors, climate, agri, healthcare. And as you might imagine, if you’ve gone to any of these halls, everybody is AI this, AI that.

But our premise or hypothesis is that if you make the extra effort in identifying the true AI startups, and what do I mean by true AI startups? Startups that have access to proprietary data. Startups that have deep domain expertise in whatever sector they are coming in from. And startups that are pursuing solutions that could not have been pursued but for the current AI, AGI, tools and technologies. Those startups, if you focus on them, my sincere belief is that the scale of impact… as well as the pace of impact would be significantly higher, better, larger than even tech -enabled social startups. So it is with that premise that we are putting in a lot of time and energy into this new version 3 .0 of AFI.

We are focusing on all things at the intersection of AI and impact. And in my remarks later on in this panel, I want to talk about two things. Some things that are already happening at the country level, at the organizational level like AFI and the family that I work with. So I want to give specific examples. It’s not just theory or some ideas, find the sky kind of ideas. So when we launched this cohort, it was just about a few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to meet with an Israeli entrepreneur by the name Ori Goshen. Members of the Israeli delegation might recognize his name. He is the co -founder and co -CEO of this company called AI21 Labs.

This is one of the premier AI startups from Israel. I met him at a family office conference in the Bay Area sometime back. And he was the keynote speaker when we had this valedictory event a little while ago. And it is these kind of exchanges that happen between entrepreneurs in Israel and ecosystems in India. They inspired the dozen entrepreneurs who were there in that session. And Ori is, of course, a commercial startup. He has raised hundreds of millions of dollars. And he is at a completely different trajectory. But to have somebody like that profile, engaging with entrepreneurs, and then sharing their insights in terms of what to do, what not to do. These are the kind of things that can go a long way in terms of making things better.

And there is one initiative that I want to highlight to the audience here. An initiative called Dristi, which was launched a few years ago. This is, again, the whole premise there is in terms of how do you focus on deep tech startups and how do you focus on deep tech startups and how do you focus on deep tech startups from Israel, people working in sectors like defense, AI, robotics. and how do you give them, I mean, in this particular case, these startups, we’re working with T -Hub, which is a, yeah, the secretary was here. This is one of the more marquee incubators from India and these startups were given opportunities to launch their pilots, work with local partners and evolve their solutions.

So these kind of things are already happening and we’d love to see more of these things happen. And one final point that I’d like to make here is that India is really a test bed for social innovation. I mean, the problems that are, we have more problems than most of the parts of the world, but the solutions that are developed in India are being developed with a frugal innovation or a Gandhian engineering perspective. And these solutions with minor customization can be very relevant for other parts of the world, be it other parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America. So again, marrying Israeli deep tech with the innovation, Indian talent pool, the Indian potential for scale, Indian frugal innovation.

can make great things happen for the world.

Moderator

Excellently put, sir, in terms of important facets of when it comes to exchange, especially I think the first point that you mentioned in terms of why these kinds of dialogues are very important, right? Exchange happens through these things and new ideas and new knowledge gets birthed there, right? And also an excellent point you mentioned in terms of how, especially when you’re talking about social sector and it’s testbed as India because we have a hurry of people, different contextualities, which is excellent for us to test all of these solutions. So I’ll circle back to you, sir, but I would like to come to Ms. Meirav here. I hope I’m pronouncing your name right. But yeah, so that’s a beautiful name, though.

So I think I just wanted to pick up on the point, which Victor had mentioned in terms of the scientific research. So if you could bring in a little bit of light towards where do we really stand when it comes to Indo -Israel Education Innovation Partnerships, and how are we planning to take that forward?

Meirav Zerbib

Okay, so two weeks ago, we had an international conference in Israel regarding AI, and we were so honored when the government here in India recognized our conference as a pre -conference to the AI Impact Conference. So we have a great respect to India. And when I came, I said it also when I spoke on Tuesday, when I came to India, the minister called me, and he said, please, come with insight. an opportunity to collaborate with India. So I’m here in a mission, and I want to share with you what I understood throughout the three days that I’m here. I’m going to departure tomorrow. So, yeah. So I would like to relate to the students, teachers, and the whole system.

I understood that when I came and I presented the 720, innovative, personalized systems in Israel, I thought that I invented the world. But then I understood that the Indian Ministry of Education has the same vision, and they’re also working on the same solutions. So we have solutions that we are developing in Israel, and also India is developing. its own system so we can share knowledge because no one knows how to promote personalization we all have the same values we want that no one will be left behind and and this is something that i found that we can collaborate on regarding teachers when i spoke to the ministry to the general secretariat of education and the innovation department i understood that we have also the same challenge with teachers we both understand the teachers are the main the main agent of change so nothing will will happen without teachers so how to build a different and moderate and and work on a professional development together and promote teachers knowledge of how to integrate ai into the curriculum this is something that we can share you the third thing that I want to relate to is how to move from framework to scaling up this is something also I presented it also on my lecture and this is something that we can also learn from each other this is a huge country we have in Israel only 2 .3 million students and here you have 250 million students so you have a huge challenge but still it’s the same how to move from framework using sandboxes and managing risk and mitigating them and scaling up this is something I find really an opportunity to share knowledge, research

Moderator

That’s excellent I think that’s all it takes in terms of looking at the similarities and the same vision that India and Israel has towards Like, how can we make the, you know, last mile get the positive impacts of the solution itself? And excellent points that you mentioned in terms of, like, teachers. That’s also a major problem that, like, you know, within India, we are also trying to, like, look at, like, how can we complement technology with teachers? And then also, like, very important question is that is, like, you know, how policy to action. And I think there’s a lot of exchange, not only with Israel, but globally also, like, a lot of exchange is important for us to, like, bridge that gap between, like, you know, something on the paper towards action.

So I’ll circle back to you. But right now I just wanted to bring in Ms. Garima, who’s from the, who’s, who’s the representation here we have from the Indian government. So, Garima, thanks for joining and would like to, like, have your perspectives in terms of, like, what kind of collaborations from Indian side that you see with Israel? research collaborations and like you know Meirav also mentioned about sandboxes and other aspects so anything that you would like to bring from the Indian perspective

Garima Ujjainia

I am not sure if I can say this Shabbat Shalom I can say right Shabbat Shalom and thanks to Maya she had taught me whatever Hebrew I know so I was in Israel last year thanks to Maya we were on a high level AI delegation from the counterparts to Israel and I think the dialogue that I have been having here rightly put out like they already are there into the collaborations it’s just that you know it’s the school education, the sandboxes the research part to it the R &D, the incubators they are already in talks it’s just that the bridges has to be made from the Indian government we already have an I4F and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important project that has already been going on where research, joint researches are being built with India and Israel and that has to be tested to the market.

Now I was in, I was talking to Victor yesterday about if so I’m representing NITI Aayog, Government of India and into that Atal Innovation Mission. So we are the mission and the organization body which is trying to or is certainly putting out that innovation is the backbone of the country will be helping to make Bharat, the Vixit Bharat we are trying to make in 2047. So we actually pitch that if we can do jointly collaborative some sandboxes if you know the technology that Israel has if they can be on boarded into the Indian market, the exposure of the startups can be given to the Indian market. And the Indian startups certainly goes to also Israel and they test their products there because if you say India is currently trying to make local products for the global market.

So the cost that is what we have in edge and that we can give it to the other markets. And if you will say from the other countries not just Israel but the whole if you take as globe as the market. Now India becomes the user. We are the customers. We are the biggest customers right now for any market right now. So we become the test beds for a lot of technologies which are already out there into the market and if you people want to test it. So that that sort of a call is what and becomes the foundation of their all the bridges has been made. So the government has been trying to push the same thing.

And if you go to the expo you will see the the marquee products of the companies which are there and they are saying that we are building it for the Indian market. We want to come and enter. The market if you go to the chat GPT both they are like we are already doing so much of hackathons. We are already started penetrating into the Indian state. now it’s like they the fragmentation is the work has been in fragmented what we have to do is as a government also to make it more together and that is what we are trying to do so government is already out there trying to build it’s just you know we have to pick the right players to make it together and hold it.

Moderator

That’s that’s great points um Garima i think like you know uh in a nutshell like i can say that like this is the entire uh mission that we have is like making india for the globe and um and and and when we talk about making india for the globe is also means that we need like -minded countries to like you know join our hands and like start making that kind of solutions which has scalability across the globe as well as like some solutions globally also to be like you know more adaptable to the indian context so thank you so much for that points and now i want to like move to um need here thanks thanks for patiently waiting uh you know lads to have your perspective last but not the least very important question to you is because it’s very close to Indians is the digital public infrastructure and the digital journey and the transformation that India has had over the past decade is just very commendable right.

So as we move forward especially when we talk about intersectionality between the digital infrastructure and AI where do you see both the countries can complement each other?

Nir Dagan

value. So if someone would say, oh, we have a new digitization process and now you don’t need to meet the teacher, I would be disappointed as a citizen because education for me means that my son and I and the teacher can talk about his education. So you need to understand what are the essential products, what are the essential services that you want AI not to replace in order to eliminate the bureaucracy that doesn’t make the people in India do their real work as teachers, as social workers, as physicians.

Moderator

Thank you so much for those points. I think it was very grounding to know that we pulled back the conversation that digital transformation is not about the technology, it’s about the people. So the necessity comes from the people and people has to be put first and I think that’s where the entire summit is also called the impact and who is it impacting is the people, right? so those are excellent points and I think like as you mentioned in terms of like academic collaborations and like you know public sector needs that kind of like vision which will be provided by the other you know policy actors and stakeholders we are also doing the NDIAI mission which is trying to like you know try to involve as many players as possible through different initiatives under seven pillars so as we move forward I think like you know it’s going to really like pick up and also I think like there has to be some level of global contribution to this as well as something that should be like you know thought through.

Thank you so much for those points I’ll circle back to you so we have 15 minutes I would also want to pick up people’s questions but before that I wanted to you know have one round of like closing remarks from all the panelists maybe we can start with Victor

Victor Gosalker

okay I want to add this and tell you about the mechanism I’m head of in Israel, the mechanism called Scanning Horizon, like in other advanced countries, regarding to improve the strategic planning of the government, truth, understanding the global trends, and specifically the emerging technology that shape our world. And we are using some of the AI tools for monitoring the global trends and the new trends, weak signals in light to alert about the new trends, and also to find the next emerging technology that shape our world, and contribute to the strategic planning. We are now standing with collaboration with Indian side about this issue of scanning horizon and emerging technology. Next week, I hope it will be, next time.

and this is a good opportunity for me to thank the Indian side because they visited us last year. We exposed them the tools, the AI tools and the mechanism and they appreciate it and very fast. We are just six months after the Indian side visit in Israel and we are already in the track of agreement. So it’s very fast. Thank you.

Moderator

Thank you so much, Victor. Maybe now we can have Mr. Sanjay too.

Sanjay Kumar

So one of the things that I’ll mention is I said at the beginning that I wear two hats. One is as the founder and chairman of Action for India. I also work for a family office called the Sun Group. So we are a fourth generation business family and we have business interests across the US, Africa, Europe, India. One initiative in particular that I want to mention is we have a lot of people who are very passionate about this. talk about and implications for India -Israel relationship is an initiative called GRAIL, G -R -A -I -L, as in Holy Grail. It stands for Green AI Learning Network. And the whole idea is in terms of how do you leverage some of the current AI, AGI technologies for scaling solutions, accelerating solutions that address climate change.

So we are currently on a mission to form a global ecosystem across investors, entrepreneurs, executives, researchers, foundations to move this agenda forward. Last year, we had a massive convening in London. We had about 200 professionals from places like Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Alan Turing Institute, which is the premier AI institute for the UK, came together and were discussing in panels like this on themes like smart grids, renewables, new material innovation, climate modeling, and topics like that. And we’d like to bring this initiative, GRAIL, to other parts of the world, be it the US, be it other parts of Europe. to other parts of the world, be it other parts of the world, to other parts of the world, be it other parts of the world, or even to Israel.

And I think, yeah, in terms of the complementarities that exist between the two ecosystems in Israel and in India. Israel, as you know, it’s got a culture of deep tech, research of bold experimentations. And if you marry that with a huge engineering talent in a place like India and, yeah, the potential for scale, I think, yeah, big things can happen. And to this, it need not be just a bilateral relationship between India and Israel. If you bring in actually a triangulated model of collaboration with, say, pools of capital from a geography like the U.S., then things can happen. I mean, you can make affordable solutions made available to the globe by marrying the technology of Israel, the large markets of India, and, yeah, the capital, leveraging the capital of places like the U.S.

So this is something that… Again, as this initiative moves forward, there could be a Grail Investment Fund wherein we could identify early -stage startups working at the intersection of climate and AI solving problems in this domain. And one thing in my closing remarks. So there are elements about what has already happened, elements that can happen. But a couple of ideas in terms of two, three ideas about what could be some new or different things that could be attempted. So in the past, traditionally it’s been what I told you, shared with you about the Drishti initiative. It was startups from Israel coming to a T -Hub in Hyderabad and then working with local partners and collaborating later on.

Maybe what could be attempted is in terms of building things together from day one rather than a partnership much later. That’s something that could be attempted. And see what happens there. And then building a robust pipeline of innovation opportunities. opportunities that traverse the defense and the civilian application case and again leveraging the complementarities of the little sort of ecosystems. If you build that pipeline I think more good things could emerge and the last point is in terms of not just limiting it to a bilateral relationship but marrying the strengths of these two ecosystems and doing good things for the world by bringing in other stakeholders into the equation.

Moderator

Thank you so much. I think that’s a great point and I think at Dialogue we also work with other countries and one important aspect was the same as building together for cross -border solutions and very fascinating results we have seen when two countries come together and two talent pools from two different countries come together solving for the same goal but also complementing both sides of context. Excellent point. Thank you so much. I would love now to come to Ms. but I have to give her closing remarks ok I see the clock so I just want to say that your prime minister is about to come to Israel next week and he will meet with our prime minister and I hope that a delegation of the ministry of education in India will come to Israel and we will go forward to the next step and sign an assignment together I’m really looking forward to it we are also looking forward to the same what’s going to come out of it yes now let’s go to Ms.

Garima

Garima Ujjainia

I think everyone has put everything on the table so there is nothing any specific I would want to share but ministry of education you said the PM is going to Israel I think that makes the if health, security remains the priority points of both the countries and if something can come up in that I think innovation will anyways cut across all the sectors so if you know some the priorities of both the nations can marry together with the same agendas and we can contribute towards both of it I think that

Nir Dagan

excellent so I saw that many many of the sessions here we’re dealing with a question of what could be the optimal contribution of India to the global AI revolution and it’s quite a difficult question because you have everything here you have the best coders and you have energy sources and you have water supply and you have compute power but in my opinion as your guest this is not the most unique thing that you can find in India I believe that the AI revolution holds a very significant spiritual crisis for the world. If I’m a lawyer and now my job is better performed in the legal arena by AI, then I’m in a real crisis. If I’m a coder and in the last two years the codes of Claude became better than me in coding, then many people see it as a crisis.

And I think that India is the spiritual capital of the world. You have thousands of years in exploring the human spirit. And if there is something that AI will never replace, this is the human spirit. And this is what I would like you to bring to the global AI revolution that we are having.

Moderator

Thank you so much, Nir. And thank you so much for the panelists for all the great questions, answers and excellent points. But I’m sure like audience here also have a lot of questions to ask to the panelists. before we conclude we can take few questions here

Audience

Both countries represents minority ethnic minorities cultural ethnic minorities so but we have to be the guardians of the global human civilizational existence because the quantum the AI is part quantum is going to unleash the power of compute accessible to every individual in his palm which can act misuse abuse to threaten societies communities countries it may go to rogue actors bad governments rogue nations as well so for that But there is no single entity in the world which is trying to develop a framework or models or some kind of a globally accepted best practice standard based thing. Because a stitch in time saves nine. No corporate which is developing quantum is taking responsibility of having guardrails in place because they are all pro -profit individual companies.

Quantum is real happening now. So but a stitch in time saves nine. It is onus on the part of Israel and India to create human existential rail guards for us to survive and also to give a global standards, global rail guards. As a minority ethnic cultural minorities of the world. it’s an existential issue.

Moderator

yeah I think just putting the question I think like is trust and safe like you know it’s an important aspect when we actually talk about the solutions as well anybody in the panel would want to like touch on like how both countries can work together on putting together that governance framework as we move forward any thoughts anybody.

Nir Dagan

So I think that as governments we need to understand that the most important coin for us is not rupees or dollars but public trust and public trust this is the reason that we are here for if we will not have public trust then no one will download our apps and no one will make us even go to the AI and trust is like a tree it is very hard to build it is very hard to grow but you can cut it off in a second and I think that this makes us very much responsible to the matter of public trust in the when we deploy AI solutions when we develop quantum solutions we need to be extremely transparent with the public we need the public to be involved in our development process we need to the public to know exactly what technologies we are using if an AI bot from the Ministry of Welfare is calling me I want to know that it is a bot and I want to be able to say oh I want to speak with the real person oh I want a real person to examine my situation and I think that trust cost a lot of money and sometimes it makes us a bit slower but this is the direction and transparency is the direction in which we should be towards if we want the revolution to succeed.

Moderator

excellent point trust is the bedrock for anything that we are talking here without trust there’s no uptake we have time for one more question

Audience

I’m dr. silent I have agreed to start What I have seen since the last three, four decades, Israel technology for agriculture, water conservation, it is supreme. All over the world, they know the technology also, and they know the speed of decision also of Israeli. And Israel, through America, they are having global power. Now through India, they can have a global purpose. We are not only in India, but the whole world is going to have a virtual land for you, for a global purpose. How you are going to do, I would like to see that. Thank you.

Moderator

Over to the panelist. Thank you.

Victor Gosalker

Thank you for the question. I’m from the Ministry of Science and Innovation and Technology in Israel. And we see India not just a… bilateral partner, as a global partner, because we see India will become in the 21… century as a global superpower and we start with the Indo -Pacific region. Israel developed a strategy for the Indo -Pacific region and we see India as a key state, a key country in this region. And this region is the center of the gravity of the global world regarding economy, demography, technology, of course. Technology is transit from the western side of the world, of the global world, to the Indo -Pacific. Look at China, India, Korea, and all the other countries here, Japan, of course.

So we are in Israel, see India as a strategic partner, not just for India, just for our region.

Meirav Zerbib

I would like to add that, Nir, say something about necessity. and necessity in India makes you much greater innovative than Israel and the United States. I want to give a small example. Yesterday we visited the Indian Institution of Technology and I met entrepreneurs with innovative, they presented to me not a product, not a technological product, but a STEM product like a game and it was so innovative. Because the entrepreneurs in India think about so many people, so many varieties of students that should take this game and make it relevant to so different societies and the price was so low that then I said, I want it to every class in Israel. So it’s so powerful.

We don’t have it in Israel and of course not in the US.

Nir Dagan

India is about to join the PAK -Silica agreement and first of all congratulations for joining this agreement that we are already part of and we really really appreciate I think that many people are speaking about the silica part of PAK -Silica but the first word is PAKS which actually means peace and I think that India is also a superpower in making peace and we can learn a lot from you in this matter as well so Shabbat Shalom and Ramadan Kareem for everyone who is fasting and let’s pray for peace in the Middle East.

E

Erez Askal

Speech speed

56 words per minute

Speech length

170 words

Speech time

180 seconds

Foundations and strategic importance of Indo‑Israel AI partnership

Explanation

Erez Askal stresses that the bilateral relationship between India and Israel provides a strong foundation for cooperation in artificial intelligence, viewing AI as a new arena where both nations can create shared opportunities.


Evidence

“I believe that in AI we have amazing opportunities together.” [28]. “Before this week, I thought that we need to found allies.” [38].


Major discussion point

Foundations and strategic importance of Indo‑Israel AI partnership


Topics

Artificial intelligence | The enabling environment for digital development


M

Moderator

Speech speed

135 words per minute

Speech length

1587 words

Speech time

702 seconds

Exploring AI collaboration and setting research agenda

Explanation

The moderator frames the discussion by asking how India and Israel can partner on AI within scientific research, thereby setting the agenda for joint exploration and collaboration.


Evidence

“So my first question to you is like very, very, and the foundational level is that is like, in what ways do you think like Israel and India can partner in applying artificial intelligence, specifically within scientific research, because science and technology is one of the major aspects that most of the, you know, emerging, globally, every countries are looking into.” [8]


Major discussion point

Foundations and strategic importance of Indo‑Israel AI partnership


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Social and economic development


Linking digital public infrastructure with AI complementarity

Explanation

The moderator asks how the two countries can complement each other at the intersection of digital infrastructure and AI, highlighting the need for coordinated development.


Evidence

“So as we move forward especially when we talk about intersectionality between the digital infrastructure and AI where do you see both the countries can complement each other?” [25]


Major discussion point

Digital public infrastructure, AI governance, trust and global standards


Topics

Information and communication technologies for development | Artificial intelligence


S

Sanjay Kumar

Speech speed

156 words per minute

Speech length

1010 words

Speech time

386 seconds

Positioning Telangana as a natural AI partner for Israel

Explanation

Sanjay Kumar highlights existing partnerships in sectors such as water, defense, agriculture and smart cities, positioning Telangana’s AI ecosystem as a natural partner for Israel and suggesting joint innovation from day one.


Evidence

“We have active partnerships going on in the field of water conservation, defense, agriculture, and so on, smart cities also.” [34]. “Maybe what could be attempted is in terms of building things together from day one rather than a partnership much later.” [30]. “And then building a robust pipeline of innovation opportunities.” [31].


Major discussion point

Funding mechanisms, AI hubs and joint innovation pipelines


Topics

The enabling environment for digital development | Artificial intelligence


Leveraging India’s AI talent to boost joint productivity

Explanation

Sanjay Kumar argues that India’s large pool of AI talent can complement Israel’s research strengths, creating synergistic productivity gains across sectors.


Evidence

“Maybe what could be attempted is in terms of building things together from day one rather than a partnership much later.” [30]. “And then building a robust pipeline of innovation opportunities.” [31].


Major discussion point

Collaboration in scientific research and AI integration


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Capacity development


V

Victor Gosalker

Speech speed

121 words per minute

Speech length

547 words

Speech time

269 seconds

AI can accelerate every stage of the scientific cycle

Explanation

Victor proposes that India can develop AI services to support scientific research at all stages, enabling joint grants and collaborative projects between Indian and Israeli researchers.


Evidence

“I think India can develop specific services to support science, implementing AI in science in all stages, and support researchers in India and Israel in that way to encourage the research productivity.” [6]


Major discussion point

Collaboration in scientific research and AI integration


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Scientific research (Social and economic development)


S

Sanjay Kadaveru

Speech speed

176 words per minute

Speech length

910 words

Speech time

309 seconds

Launching AI impact cohort for true AI startups

Explanation

Sanjay Kadaveru describes an AI impact cohort that selects startups with proprietary data and deep domain expertise to scale solutions in climate, agriculture and healthcare.


Evidence

“And startups that are pursuing solutions that could not have been pursued but for the current AI, AGI, tools and technologies.” [21].


Major discussion point

AI‑driven social innovation and sectoral applications


Topics

Environmental impacts | Artificial intelligence


Proposing the GRAIL (Green AI Learning Network)

Explanation

Sanjay outlines the GRAIL initiative—Green AI Learning Network—as a global ecosystem to unite investors, entrepreneurs and researchers across Israel, India and beyond for climate‑focused AI solutions.


Evidence

“talk about and implications for India -Israel relationship is an initiative called GRAIL, G -R -A -I -L, as in Holy Grail.” [2]. “It stands for Green AI Learning Network.” [3]. “And the whole idea is in terms of how do you leverage some of the current AI, AGI technologies for scaling solutions, accelerating solutions that address climate change.” [4]. “So we are currently on a mission to form a global ecosystem across investors, entrepreneurs, executives, researchers, foundations to move this agenda forward.” [13]. “And we’d like to bring this initiative, GRAIL, to other parts of the world, be it the US, be it other parts of Europe.” [7].


Major discussion point

AI‑driven social innovation and sectoral applications


Topics

Environmental impacts | Artificial intelligence | Financial mechanisms


M

Meirav Zerbib

Speech speed

122 words per minute

Speech length

547 words

Speech time

268 seconds

Education, personalized learning and teacher development

Explanation

Meirav emphasizes the need to share Israel’s personalized learning systems and collaborate on teacher professional development, sandboxes and scaling frameworks for India’s 250 million students.


Evidence

“its own system so we can share knowledge because no one knows how to promote personalization we all have the same values we want that no one will be left behind and and this is something that i found that we can collaborate on regarding teachers when i spoke to the ministry to the general secretariat of education and the innovation department i understood that we have also the same challenge with teachers we both understand the teachers are the main the main agent of change so nothing will will happen without teachers so how to build a different and moderate and and work on a professional development together and promote teachers knowledge of how to integrate ai into the curriculum this is something that we can share you the third thing that i want to relate to is how to move from framework to scaling up this is something also i presented it also on my lecture and this is something that we can also learn from each other this is a huge country we have in Israel only 2 .3 million students and here you have 250 million students so you have a huge challenge but still it’s the same how to move from framework using sandboxes and managing risk and mitigating them and scaling up this is something i find really an opportunity to share knowledge, research” [26]


Major discussion point

Education, personalized learning and teacher development


Topics

Social and economic development | Capacity development


G

Garima Ujjainia

Speech speed

170 words per minute

Speech length

668 words

Speech time

234 seconds

Existing India‑Israel R&D, sandbox and incubator talks

Explanation

Garima notes that dialogues between India and Israel have already produced talks on school education, sandboxes, R&D and incubators, and calls for government bridges to turn these discussions into concrete collaborations.


Evidence

“I am not sure if I can say this Shabbat Shalom I can say right Shabbat Shalom and thanks to Maya she had taught me whatever Hebrew I know so I was in Israel last year thanks to Maya we were on a high level AI delegation from the counterparts to Israel and I think the dialogue that I have been having here rightly put out like they already are there into the collaborations it’s just that you know it’s the school education, the sandboxes the research part to it the R &D, the incubators they are already in talks it’s just that the bridges has to be made from the Indian government we already have an I4F and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important and I think that’s really important project that has already been going on where research, joint researches are being built with India and Israel and that has to be tested to the market.” [15]


Major discussion point

Education, personalized learning and teacher development


Topics

Social and economic development | The enabling environment for digital development


N

Nir Dagan

Speech speed

153 words per minute

Speech length

633 words

Speech time

247 seconds

Essential services should not be replaced by AI

Explanation

Nir argues that AI must augment, not replace, essential public services such as education, health and social work, preserving human roles and reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies.


Evidence

“So you need to understand what are the essential products, what are the essential services that you want AI not to replace in order to eliminate the bureaucracy that doesn’t make the people in India do their real work as teachers, as social workers, as physicians.” [16]


Major discussion point

Digital public infrastructure, AI governance, trust and global standards


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society


Public trust as cornerstone of AI deployment

Explanation

Nir stresses that without public trust, AI applications will fail, calling for transparency, user choice and ethical guardrails to ensure responsible AI and quantum solutions.


Evidence

“So I think that as governments we need to understand that the most important coin for us is not rupees or dollars but public trust and public trust this is the reason that we are here for if we will not have public trust then no one will download our apps and no one will make us even go to the AI and trust is like a tree it is very hard to build it is very hard to grow but you can cut it off in a second and I think that this makes us very much responsible to the matter of public trust in the when we deploy AI solutions when we develop quantum solutions we need to be extremely transparent with the public we need the public to be involved in our development process we need the public to know exactly what technologies we are using if an AI bot from the Ministry of Welfare is calling me I want to know that it is a bot and I want to be able to say oh I want to speak with the real person oh I want a real person to examine my situation and I think that trust cost a lot of money and sometimes it makes us a bit slower but this is the direction and transparency is the direction in which we should be towards if we want the revolution to succeed.” [20]


Major discussion point

Digital public infrastructure, AI governance, trust and global standards


Topics

Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society | Artificial intelligence


A

Audience

Speech speed

102 words per minute

Speech length

287 words

Speech time

167 seconds

Leadership in global AI/quantum governance frameworks

Explanation

The audience calls for India and Israel to jointly lead the creation of international AI and quantum governance standards to protect societies from misuse and rogue actors.


Evidence

“So if someone would say, oh, we have a new digitization process and now you don’t need to meet the teacher, I would be disappointed as a citizen because education for me means that my son and I and the teacher can talk about his education.” [23]. “So I think that as governments we need to understand that the most important coin for us is not rupees or dollars but public trust…” [20].


Major discussion point

Digital public infrastructure, AI governance, trust and global standards


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society


Agreements

Agreement points

Deep historical relationship and shared values between India and Israel

Speakers

– Erez Askal
– Sanjay Kumar

Arguments

Deep relationship based on shared values and challenges spanning seven decades


Active partnerships exist in water conservation, defense, agriculture, and smart cities


Summary

Both speakers emphasize the strong foundation of India-Israel cooperation built over seven to eight decades, with existing collaborations across multiple sectors including defense, agriculture, water conservation, and smart cities.


Topics

Social and economic development | The enabling environment for digital development


Complementary strengths in AI and technology collaboration

Speakers

– Victor Gosalker
– Sanjay Kadaveru

Arguments

Israel has advantage in R&D while India has skilled, well-educated researchers, especially in AI


Triangulated collaboration models involving Israel’s technology, India’s scale, and US capital can create global solutions


Summary

Both speakers recognize that Israel’s R&D capabilities complement India’s skilled workforce and market scale, creating opportunities for effective collaboration in AI and technology development.


Topics

Artificial intelligence | The enabling environment for digital development


India as a testing ground and market for innovation

Speakers

– Sanjay Kadaveru
– Garima Ujjainia
– Meirav Zerbib

Arguments

India serves as a testbed for social innovation with solutions applicable globally through frugal innovation


India represents both a massive customer base and testing ground for global technologies


Necessity-driven innovation in India creates more innovative solutions than in Israel or US


Summary

All three speakers agree that India’s large, diverse population and complex challenges make it an ideal testing ground for innovations, with solutions developed through necessity-driven innovation being highly effective and globally applicable.


Topics

Social and economic development | The enabling environment for digital development


Shared vision for personalized education and teacher development

Speakers

– Meirav Zerbib
– Moderator

Arguments

Both countries share the same vision for personalized education systems and face similar teacher challenges


Academic partnerships and skilled labor exchange are two important aspects of India-Israel collaboration


Summary

Both speakers recognize that India and Israel have similar visions for educational innovation, particularly in personalized learning systems, and face common challenges in teacher development and AI integration in education.


Topics

Social and economic development | Artificial intelligence | Capacity development


Importance of trust and transparency in AI implementation

Speakers

– Nir Dagan
– Moderator

Arguments

Public trust is the most important currency for governments implementing AI solutions


Trust is the bedrock for technology adoption and without trust there is no uptake


Summary

Both speakers emphasize that trust is fundamental to successful AI adoption and implementation, requiring transparency and public involvement in AI development processes.


Topics

Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society | Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs


Similar viewpoints

Both speakers view AI as a transformative tool that can significantly accelerate and improve processes, whether in scientific research or government decision-making, highlighting the potential for collaboration in AI implementation.

Speakers

– Victor Gosalker
– Sanjay Kumar

Arguments

AI accelerates research productivity across all stages of the scientific process


Israel has integrated AI into government decision-making and is known for implementation speed


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Social and economic development


Both speakers emphasize the importance of identifying and supporting genuine AI innovations through structured collaboration mechanisms, including sandboxes and startup exchanges between countries.

Speakers

– Sanjay Kadaveru
– Garima Ujjainia

Arguments

True AI startups need proprietary data, deep domain expertise, and pursue solutions only possible with current AI technologies


Joint collaborative sandboxes and startup exchanges between countries are already happening


Topics

Artificial intelligence | The enabling environment for digital development


Both speakers recognize the challenge of implementing digital and AI solutions at scale while maintaining human-centered approaches and managing associated risks effectively.

Speakers

– Meirav Zerbib
– Nir Dagan

Arguments

Moving from policy frameworks to scaling up through sandboxes and risk management is a shared challenge


Digital transformation should eliminate bureaucracy while preserving essential human interactions


Topics

Social and economic development | Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society


Unexpected consensus

India’s spiritual leadership in addressing AI’s existential challenges

Speakers

– Nir Dagan
– Audience

Arguments

India’s spiritual heritage positions it uniquely to address the spiritual crisis posed by AI revolution


As ethnic minorities, both countries have responsibility to create global guardrails for AI safety


Explanation

It was unexpected to see consensus on India’s role as a spiritual leader in addressing the existential and ethical challenges posed by AI, moving beyond technical capabilities to philosophical and spiritual dimensions of the AI revolution.


Topics

Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society | Artificial intelligence


Rapid progress in government-to-government AI collaboration

Speakers

– Victor Gosalker
– Meirav Zerbib

Arguments

India-Israel collaboration on scanning horizon and emerging technology mechanisms is progressing rapidly


Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Israel will advance collaboration


Explanation

The unexpected speed of formal government collaboration, with agreements being reached within six months of initial discussions, demonstrates unusually rapid diplomatic and technical cooperation between the two countries.


Topics

The enabling environment for digital development | Artificial intelligence


Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrated strong consensus on the complementary nature of India-Israel collaboration in AI and technology, with agreement on India’s role as a testing ground for innovation, the importance of trust in AI implementation, shared educational visions, and the need for human-centered approaches to digital transformation.


Consensus level

High level of consensus with speakers consistently reinforcing each other’s points about collaboration opportunities, complementary strengths, and shared challenges. The implications suggest a strong foundation for deepening India-Israel AI partnerships across government, education, and private sector initiatives, with potential for creating globally applicable solutions through their combined capabilities.


Differences

Different viewpoints

India’s unique contribution to global AI revolution

Speakers

– Nir Dagan
– Garima Ujjainia

Arguments

India is the spiritual capital of the world. You have thousands of years in exploring the human spirit. And if there is something that AI will never replace, this is the human spirit


India becomes the user. We are the customers. We are the biggest customers right now for any market right now. So we become the test beds for a lot of technologies which are already out there into the market


Summary

Nir Dagan emphasizes India’s spiritual heritage as its most unique contribution to addressing the AI revolution’s spiritual crisis, while Garima focuses on India’s role as a massive customer base and testing ground for technologies


Topics

Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society | Social and economic development


Unexpected differences

Role of human interaction in digital transformation

Speakers

– Nir Dagan
– Sanjay Kumar

Arguments

Digital transformation should eliminate bureaucracy while preserving essential human interactions


Israel has integrated AI into government decision-making and is known for implementation speed


Explanation

While both support AI integration in government, Nir emphasizes preserving human interactions and transparency, whereas Sanjay focuses on Israel’s efficiency in AI implementation without addressing the human element


Topics

Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society | Social and economic development


Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed remarkably high consensus among speakers with very few direct disagreements. Most differences were in emphasis rather than fundamental opposition – speakers agreed on collaboration goals but highlighted different aspects or approaches


Disagreement level

Low level of disagreement with high consensus on India-Israel AI collaboration. The main tension was between technical/economic perspectives versus human-centered/ethical approaches to AI development, which reflects broader global debates about AI governance and implementation priorities


Partial agreements

Partial agreements

Both speakers agree on the need for deeper collaboration between India and Israel in AI development, but Sanjay advocates for building solutions together from the beginning while Victor focuses on India developing AI services to support scientific research

Speakers

– Sanjay Kadaveru
– Victor Gosalker

Arguments

Building solutions together from day one rather than partnering later could yield better results


India can develop specific services to support science, implementing AI in science in all stages, and support researchers in India and Israel


Topics

Artificial intelligence | The enabling environment for digital development


Both recognize the challenge of moving from policy to implementation, but Meirav emphasizes the shared scaling challenges while Sanjay highlights Israel’s advantage in speed of implementation

Speakers

– Meirav Zerbib
– Sanjay Kumar

Arguments

Moving from policy frameworks to scaling up through sandboxes and risk management is a shared challenge


Israel has integrated AI into government decision-making and is known for implementation speed


Topics

Social and economic development | The enabling environment for digital development


Similar viewpoints

Both speakers view AI as a transformative tool that can significantly accelerate and improve processes, whether in scientific research or government decision-making, highlighting the potential for collaboration in AI implementation.

Speakers

– Victor Gosalker
– Sanjay Kumar

Arguments

AI accelerates research productivity across all stages of the scientific process


Israel has integrated AI into government decision-making and is known for implementation speed


Topics

Artificial intelligence | Social and economic development


Both speakers emphasize the importance of identifying and supporting genuine AI innovations through structured collaboration mechanisms, including sandboxes and startup exchanges between countries.

Speakers

– Sanjay Kadaveru
– Garima Ujjainia

Arguments

True AI startups need proprietary data, deep domain expertise, and pursue solutions only possible with current AI technologies


Joint collaborative sandboxes and startup exchanges between countries are already happening


Topics

Artificial intelligence | The enabling environment for digital development


Both speakers recognize the challenge of implementing digital and AI solutions at scale while maintaining human-centered approaches and managing associated risks effectively.

Speakers

– Meirav Zerbib
– Nir Dagan

Arguments

Moving from policy frameworks to scaling up through sandboxes and risk management is a shared challenge


Digital transformation should eliminate bureaucracy while preserving essential human interactions


Topics

Social and economic development | Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society


Takeaways

Key takeaways

India and Israel have strong complementary strengths for AI collaboration – Israel’s R&D expertise and implementation speed paired with India’s skilled workforce, scale, and frugal innovation capabilities


Both countries share similar visions and challenges in education (personalized learning systems, teacher development) and government AI integration, creating natural partnership opportunities


India serves as both a massive testing ground for global AI solutions and a source of necessity-driven innovations that can be scaled worldwide


Trust and transparency are fundamental to successful AI implementation – governments must maintain public trust through transparent processes and preserving essential human interactions


The collaboration should extend beyond bilateral partnerships to triangulated models involving other countries’ strengths (e.g., US capital) for global impact


India’s spiritual heritage positions it uniquely to address the existential and ethical challenges posed by the AI revolution


Existing mechanisms like joint research funds, startup exchanges, and sandbox collaborations are already showing rapid progress and should be expanded


Resolutions and action items

Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Israel will advance collaboration, with potential Ministry of Education delegation to follow


Continuation of India-Israel collaboration on scanning horizon and emerging technology mechanisms (agreement expected within six months)


Expansion of joint collaborative sandboxes for startups to test technologies in both markets


Development of GRAIL (Green AI Learning Network) initiative to other regions including Israel for climate-AI solutions


Building solutions together from day one rather than partnering after separate development


Creating robust pipelines of innovation opportunities spanning defense and civilian applications


Unresolved issues

How to establish global governance frameworks and guardrails for AI safety, particularly with quantum computing advancement


Specific mechanisms for scaling successful pilot programs and moving from policy frameworks to implementation


How to balance AI automation with preserving essential human interactions in government services


Addressing the spiritual and existential crisis posed by AI replacing human roles across professions


Creating globally accepted best practices and standards for AI development and deployment


Determining optimal contribution of India to the global AI revolution beyond technical capabilities


Suggested compromises

Digital transformation should eliminate bureaucracy while preserving essential human services (citizens should be able to request human interaction when needed)


AI implementation should be transparent with public involvement, even if it costs more money and slows development


Focus on ‘true AI startups’ with proprietary data and deep domain expertise rather than all AI-enabled solutions


Leverage both countries’ strengths while involving third-party capital and markets for global scaling


Balance commercial AI development with responsibility for creating safety guardrails and ethical frameworks


Thought provoking comments

I believe that the AI revolution holds a very significant spiritual crisis for the world. If I’m a lawyer and now my job is better performed in the legal arena by AI, then I’m in a real crisis… And I think that India is the spiritual capital of the world. You have thousands of years in exploring the human spirit. And if there is something that AI will never replace, this is the human spirit.

Speaker

Nir Dagan


Reason

This comment was profoundly insightful because it shifted the entire discussion from technical capabilities and partnerships to the existential and spiritual implications of AI. It introduced a philosophical dimension that hadn’t been explored and positioned India’s unique cultural heritage as a potential solution to a global crisis.


Impact

This comment fundamentally reframed the conversation’s conclusion, moving from practical collaboration discussions to deeper questions about human purpose in an AI-driven world. It elevated India’s role from just a technical partner to a spiritual guardian of humanity, creating a powerful new narrative for Indo-Israel cooperation.


My sincere belief is that if you focus on [true AI startups] – startups that have access to proprietary data, startups that have deep domain expertise, and startups that are pursuing solutions that could not have been pursued but for the current AI, AGI, tools and technologies – the scale of impact as well as the pace of impact would be significantly higher.

Speaker

Sanjay Kadaveru


Reason

This comment cut through the AI hype by providing concrete criteria for identifying genuinely transformative AI ventures. It offered a practical framework for distinguishing between companies merely using AI as a buzzword versus those creating truly novel solutions.


Impact

This insight grounded the discussion in practical reality and influenced subsequent speakers to focus on substantive rather than superficial AI applications. It provided a lens through which to evaluate the quality of Indo-Israel AI partnerships.


You need to understand what are the essential products, what are the essential services that you want AI not to replace in order to eliminate the bureaucracy that doesn’t make the people in India do their real work as teachers, as social workers, as physicians.

Speaker

Nir Dagan


Reason

This comment was insightful because it inverted the typical AI discussion from ‘what can AI do?’ to ‘what should AI not do?’ It emphasized human-centered design and the importance of preserving meaningful human interactions in essential services.


Impact

This perspective influenced the discussion to consider AI as a tool for eliminating bureaucratic barriers rather than replacing human connections, particularly resonating with the education-focused speakers who emphasized the irreplaceable value of teacher-student relationships.


India is really a test bed for social innovation… the solutions that are developed in India are being developed with a frugal innovation or a Gandhian engineering perspective. And these solutions with minor customization can be very relevant for other parts of the world.

Speaker

Sanjay Kadaveru


Reason

This comment reframed India’s challenges as global opportunities, introducing the concept of ‘Gandhian engineering’ and positioning India’s constraints as innovation drivers rather than limitations.


Impact

This insight shifted the conversation from India as a recipient of Israeli technology to India as a creator of globally scalable solutions. It influenced other speakers to recognize India’s unique innovation methodology and its potential for global impact.


The most important coin for us is not rupees or dollars but public trust… trust is like a tree it is very hard to build it is very hard to grow but you can cut it off in a second.

Speaker

Nir Dagan


Reason

This metaphor powerfully captured the fragility and fundamental importance of public trust in AI deployment, providing a memorable framework for understanding the stakes involved in AI governance.


Impact

This comment directly addressed the audience member’s concern about AI safety and governance, steering the discussion toward the critical importance of transparency and public involvement in AI development. It provided a philosophical foundation for responsible AI deployment.


Overall assessment

These key comments transformed what could have been a routine diplomatic discussion about technical cooperation into a profound exploration of AI’s human implications. Nir Dagan’s spiritual crisis observation was particularly pivotal, elevating the conversation from transactional partnerships to civilizational responsibility. Sanjay Kadaveru’s insights about ‘true AI startups’ and ‘Gandhian engineering’ provided practical frameworks while repositioning India’s role from technology recipient to innovation leader. The discussion evolved from initial pleasantries about bilateral cooperation to deep questions about preserving human dignity, building public trust, and addressing global challenges. The audience questions about quantum computing threats and the speakers’ responses about trust and governance further deepened the conversation, making it clear that Indo-Israel AI cooperation must address not just technical capabilities but fundamental questions about technology’s role in human society.


Follow-up questions

How to implement AI in each stage of the scientific research process to accelerate productivity

Speaker

Victor Gosalker


Explanation

This represents a fundamental research area for improving scientific methodology and productivity through AI integration across the entire research cycle


How to develop specific services in India to support science implementing AI for researchers in both India and Israel

Speaker

Victor Gosalker


Explanation

This identifies a concrete collaboration opportunity leveraging India’s skilled AI workforce to create support services for scientific research


How to move from framework to scaling up AI solutions in education systems

Speaker

Meirav Zerbib


Explanation

This addresses the critical challenge of translating AI educational frameworks into large-scale implementation, particularly relevant given India’s 250 million students


How to build professional development programs for teachers to integrate AI into curriculum

Speaker

Meirav Zerbib


Explanation

This focuses on the essential need to prepare educators for AI integration, which both countries identified as a shared challenge


How to manage risk and use sandboxes effectively when scaling AI solutions

Speaker

Meirav Zerbib


Explanation

This explores methodologies for safe testing and gradual deployment of AI solutions before full-scale implementation


How to establish joint collaborative sandboxes for testing Israeli technology in Indian markets and vice versa

Speaker

Garima Ujjainia


Explanation

This proposes a structured approach for bilateral technology testing and market validation between the two countries


How to build solutions together from day one rather than partnering later in the development process

Speaker

Sanjay Kadaveru


Explanation

This suggests a new model of collaboration that could be more effective than current approaches where partnerships form after initial development


How to create a robust pipeline of innovation opportunities that traverse defense and civilian applications

Speaker

Sanjay Kadaveru


Explanation

This addresses the need for systematic innovation pathways that can serve both sectors effectively


How to develop global standards and guardrails for quantum computing and AI to prevent misuse by rogue actors

Speaker

Audience member


Explanation

This raises critical concerns about the existential risks posed by quantum-AI technologies and the need for international governance frameworks


How India and Israel can work together to create human existential guardrails and global standards for AI safety

Speaker

Audience member


Explanation

This specifically calls for bilateral cooperation on AI safety governance as minority nations with responsibility for global civilization


How to leverage India’s role as a global testbed and customer base to create solutions for worldwide application

Speaker

Audience member


Explanation

This explores India’s unique position as both a large market and testing ground for technologies that can then be scaled globally


Disclaimer: This is not an official session record. DiploAI generates these resources from audiovisual recordings, and they are presented as-is, including potential errors. Due to logistical challenges, such as discrepancies in audio/video or transcripts, names may be misspelled. We strive for accuracy to the best of our ability.