A central message of the Arab AI Forum was the urgent adoption of the league’s recently endorsed ethical AI charter….reports Asian Lite News
In a defining moment for the future of artificial intelligence across the Arab region, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit called for enhanced cooperation among Arab states in AI and a dramatic increase in investment in research and development. His remarks came during the inaugural Arab AI Forum, held in the coastal city of New Alamein, Egypt.
A central message of the event was the urgent adoption of the league’s recently endorsed ethical AI charter. This guiding document, ratified just last month, was highlighted by Aboul-Gheit as essential to ensuring that AI deployment is both equitable and culturally sensitive—rooted in local values while promoting responsibility. The Arab League insists that the framework will help prevent potential misuse of AI technologies while offering a common reference point for regional policy.
Echoing the Secretary-General’s call, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, described AI collaboration as “no longer a luxury but a pressing necessity.” He stressed the need for a formal institutional framework and stepped forward with a proposal to create an Arab Council of Ministers for AI and Emerging Technologies, operating under the Arab League. This body, if established, would align policies across member states, strengthen regional representation in global technology forums, and allow the Arab world to present a unified front in AI governance.
The proposal follows earlier steps taken this year when the Arab League unveiled both a regional AI strategy and the ethical charter. Talaat underscored that Egypt views itself as a driver of these initiatives and pointed to the country’s recent investments in AI infrastructure and workforce training. He argued that preparing human capital for the AI era is essential, as rapid technological advances are reshaping labour markets across the Middle East and North Africa.
Egypt used the forum to showcase its own technological milestones. Among these was the launch of a remote litigation platform for criminal courts that employs locally developed speech-to-text technology. Another notable innovation was the unveiling of the first fully Egyptian-built AI solution for early detection of women’s tumours, which has already demonstrated a 90 percent accuracy rate. These projects, Talaat noted, demonstrate not only the potential of AI to improve public services but also the capacity of Arab states to build indigenous solutions.
AI is also being integrated into Egypt’s education, agriculture and water management sectors, reflecting a wider effort to harness digital transformation for sustainable development. Officials said such applications are vital for addressing regional challenges, including food security, efficient resource use and improved access to healthcare.
Looking ahead, Egypt announced that it will host the first AI Everything Middle East and Africa Summit from February 10 to 12, 2026. The summit, organised in collaboration with GITEX GLOBAL and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency, is expected to attract participants from more than 60 countries. Ministers, global technology leaders, startups, investors and researchers will gather in Cairo to exchange knowledge, display innovations and shape collective strategies. The event will also feature a ministerial meeting on AI policy, an international exhibition of advanced technologies and an innovation hackathon designed to engage young talent from across the region.
Egypt’s communications minister described the summit as a landmark opportunity for Arab and African nations to assert their presence in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. By hosting the event, Egypt aims to position itself as a regional hub for digital transformation and an anchor for policy collaboration in the Arab world.
These developments point to a wider recognition among Arab states that artificial intelligence is more than a tool of technological progress—it is a strategic asset with political, economic and cultural dimensions. The combination of a values-based ethical framework, the potential establishment of an Arab AI Council, and concrete innovations emerging from Egypt suggests that the region is beginning to transition from being primarily a consumer of AI technologies to becoming an active, values-driven leader in the global digital economy.
