Egypt has been elected to chair both the AI Governance Working Group and the Quantum Computing Working Group under the Arab Permanent Committee for AI and Emerging Technologies — two of the committee’s six working groups, and the two that align most directly with Cairo’s own domestic institutional build-out.
The elections took place at the committee’s second founding meeting in Tunisia, attended by representatives from Arab member states with regional and international organisations participating as observers.
The domestic groundwork
The pairing is not accidental. In January, Egypt’s Cabinet approved expanding the mandate of its National Council for Artificial Intelligence to cover quantum computing, biotechnology and other emerging technologies, renaming it the National Council for Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and Emerging Technologies. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly chaired the approval.
Six months later, Egypt chairs the Arab committee’s working groups on those same two domains. A country that had built domestic governance capacity for AI and quantum computing was positioned to claim the regional agenda-setting roles when they became available.
Egypt has been present at every stage of the committee’s formation. The body was created by resolution at the 29th session of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers, held in Egypt in January 2026. Egypt then hosted the inaugural founding meeting at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Cairo in May.
What the chairs cover
As chair of the AI Governance Working Group, Egypt will lead development of a regional AI governance framework, design technical governance tools, and establish an advisory mechanism supporting implementation of the Arab Charter for AI Ethics. The group will also handle knowledge sharing among member states and coordination of Arab positions in international policy discussions.
Chairing the Quantum Computing Working Group, Egypt will oversee development of a regional quantum strategy, promote research and practical applications, and assess opportunities in areas including cybersecurity — alongside building scientific and technical expertise and monitoring global developments.
The committee’s six working groups cover AI Governance, Capacity Building and Partnerships, Innovation and Technological Solutions, Data and Digital Infrastructure, Quantum Computing, and Emerging Technologies. Its broader mandate includes developing regional strategies and public policies, promoting innovation and digital transformation across sectors, strengthening capacity building, monitoring global technological developments, supporting scientific research, proposing regional agreements, and coordinating Arab participation in international forums.
Two blocs at once
The appointments give Egypt a position no other African country holds. It participates in COMESA’s harmonised regional AI strategy consultations across 21 member states, sits under the African Union’s Continental AI Strategy, and now chairs two working groups shaping AI and quantum policy for the Arab world.
That dual membership has practical implications. Frameworks Egypt helps draft for the Arab bloc will be developed by a state simultaneously subject to African regional harmonisation processes — which could either produce useful cross-pollination between the two regimes or leave Egyptian companies navigating divergent requirements depending on which framework a given transaction falls under.
Egypt ranked first in Africa on the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, launched its Karnak national Arabic language model in February, and set a National AI Strategy 2025-2030 targeting more than 250 AI companies and $42.7 billion in AI-related economic value. The Arab committee chairs extend that domestic position into regional influence over the rules other Arab states will operate under.
