The Ministry of External Affairs advised the Commerce Ministry against a “ministerial meeting” with Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates during his visit to India last month amid renewed global scrutiny over Gates’s associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Indian Express has learnt. The Commerce Ministry is learnt to have sought the MEA’s opinion regarding an event organised by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to mark its centenary year, “Curtain Raiser of FICCI @100.”This event was scheduled for February 19, the same day the global AI summit began in the Capital. “MEA does not recommend a ministerial meeting of HCIM (Hon’ble Commerce and Industry Minister) with Mr Gates, or their joint participation at an event, from the political angle at this stage,” an official at the MEA’s AMS (Americas) division conveyed to the Commerce Ministry.

Source: Indian Express March 04, 2026 08:40 UTC