Ministry of External Affairs advised against Piyush Goyal meeting Bill Gates.
Concerns linked to scrutiny over Gates’s past association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Planned FICCI centenary event postponed after MEA communication.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has quietly advised the Ministry of Commerce and Industry against allowing Minister Piyush Goyal to meet Bill Gates or appear alongside him at a public event during the Microsoft co-founder's visit to India last month — a caution rooted in the growing international scrutiny of Gates's past associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Indian Express has reported.
“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, the newspaper stated.
2 March 2026
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Reportedly, the Commerce Ministry sought the MEA's view in connection with an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to mark its centenary — a gathering billed as the "Curtain Raiser of FICCI @100," scheduled for 19th February, the opening day of the global AI summit being held in New Delhi.
Following the communication, the FICCI event was postponed, the report said.
Notably, Gates is among seven people who on Tuesday were asked to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding its ongoing investigation into Epstein files.
The Epstein Shadow
The MEA's intervention reflects broader unease about Gates's documented links with Epstein — a relationship that is reported to have begun in 2011, some three years after Epstein's first conviction for sex crimes against minors. That association has drawn renewed attention internationally following the release of files connected to the US investigation into Epstein's network.
Gates arrived in India on 16th February and held meetings with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan and senior state officials. He had been due to deliver the keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit on 19th February, but withdrew from the engagement just hours before it was scheduled to begin.
