LATVIA

On 19–20 February, Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development Raimonds Cudars participated in the high-level international “India AI Impact Summit 2026.” He was joined by Gatis Ozols, Deputy State Secretary for Digital Transformation at the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development, and Signe Balina, Chair of the Council of the Artificial Intelligence Centre. The visit aims to advance discussions on the development, safe deployment and application of artificial intelligence, as well as to strengthen international cooperation.

Minister Raimonds Cudars stated:

“India plays a significant and increasingly influential role in shaping the global artificial intelligence agenda, and Latvia highly values its leadership in strengthening responsible and inclusive AI governance. Artificial intelligence is also a national priority for Latvia – at the initiative of the President of Latvia, the Artificial Intelligence Centre has been established to enable more active engagement in international initiatives. Latvia has introduced a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence and developed guidelines for the public sector. International cooperation between countries will be successful if it is grounded in the principles enshrined in the EU Digital Services Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act, ensuring a safe and trustworthy environment for citizens. At the same time, the EU initiative, the Digital Omnibus, will help reduce the administrative burden for the deployment of reliable and secure AI solutions across sectors.”

During the summit, Minister Cudars highlighted Latvia’s commitment to developing human-centric, secure and energy-efficient AI solutions that deliver tangible benefits to citizens both in Latvia and internationally. Latvia will draw attention to the risks associated with the use of AI in spreading and detecting disinformation, as well as the importance of ensuring the inclusion of smaller languages in large language models (LLMs). The delegation will also present Latvia’s experience in implementing AI solutions in the public sector, including smart urban management tools, remote environmental monitoring technologies and energy-efficient data infrastructure.

Latvia stands ready to strengthen international economic and academic cooperation in AI governance, regulatory development, digital skills and innovation, contributing to inclusive regional development and the achievement of climate goals.

The visit included a bilateral meeting between Minister Raimonds Cudars and Jitin Prasada, India’s Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, to exchange experience on the use of AI in both the public and private sectors, as well as on global access to AI technologies.

Minister Cudars also addressed the Ministerial Council meeting of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI). Confirmed participants include OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann and Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. Ministers from Canada, Costa Rica, Egypt, Germany, India, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Senegal, Singapore and the United Kingdom will also attend. A meeting with representatives of the National e-Governance Division is scheduled within the framework of the Ministerial Council.

-- Ms Inga Skruzmane, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Latvia in India