East African Community Unveils Regional Framework to Accelerate Artificial Intelligence Development
East African Community Unveils Regional Framework to Accelerate Artificial Intelligence Development
Publish Date: 2026-05-06 06:46:00
Source Domain: techafricanews.com
- The 4th East African Community (EAC) Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Conference in Kigali, Rwanda in April 2026 adopted a landmark declaration on Artificial Intelligence (AI), emphasizing its role in regional digital transformation.
- The declaration recognizes AI and emerging technologies as crucial for economic transformation, regional integration, and sustainable development across East Africa.
- Ministers focused on harnessing AI to achieve a resilient, inclusive, and innovative East Africa, with an emphasis on regional cooperation and coordinated AI development.
- The declaration supports the development of national AI policies and strategies aligned with the regional framework and strengthens the proposed EAC Artificial Intelligence Alliance for coordinated skills development, research, and innovation.
- It calls for the establishment of an EAC Regional Centre of Excellence for Emerging Technologies and a Regional AI Technologies Fund to support research and innovation.
- To address skills gaps, ministers committed to harmonizing curricula, certification, and accreditation systems and enhancing shared digital infrastructure.
- The declaration emphasizes the importance of harmonized data governance frameworks and promoting African AI sovereignty, supporting local datasets, African language models, and domestic cloud infrastructure.
- Ministers agreed to elevate AI as a strategic industrial policy priority, promoting ethical AI through risk-based regulation, transparency, and accountability frameworks.
- Additional commitments include reforming innovation and research ecosystems, strengthening talent retention, promoting open science, and improving funding and evaluation systems for research.
- To drive regional competitiveness in the global digital economy, ministers aim to strengthen regional and global partnerships.
