Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbaiba of the Government of National Unity has announced the adoption of an Artificial Intelligence Ethics Charter and launched the country’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2026–2030 — making Libya the latest African nation to formalize a comprehensive framework for AI-led digital transformation.
Unveiled at an official ceremony in Tripoli on June 1 and overseen by the recently appointed Minister of State for Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence Ziad al-Hajjaji, the strategy sets out 35 initiatives across six pillars — governance and leadership, legislation and ethics, infrastructure and data, human capital and education, innovation and priority sectors, and monitoring and evaluation. The framework represents Libya’s first comprehensive national approach to AI.
Key quantitative targets by 2030 include enabling 80% of government entities to use AI solutions, activating a national digital identity for 70% of the population, training 10,000 government employees in advanced technology fields, supporting 100 AI startups, automating 50% of government transactions and converting 70% of paper records to digital systems.
The accompanying Ethics Charter places people at the centre of the AI process, explicitly stating that AI systems are tools to support human decision-making rather than replace it — a particularly sensitive issue in sectors such as health, justice and security. The charter commits to justice, transparency, accountability and the protection of digital sovereignty.
Priority sectors for early AI deployment include health, financial services, education and public services, with pilot projects planned before expansion to national security and energy. Specific initiatives identified in the strategy include AI-powered early disease diagnosis for diabetes and cancer, personalized learning platforms for students, and AI models for fraud and money laundering detection.
Infrastructure initiatives include a Libya Sovereign Cloud planned for launch between 2026 and 2027, a Unified National Digital ID system by 2027 and a National Data Exchange Platform by 2028. A key principle running through the infrastructure pillar is data decoupling — separating data from legacy applications to enable future flexibility.
The government plans to build governance structures from scratch. A National Artificial Intelligence Authority is planned under the Cabinet, alongside the appointment of a Chief AI Officer and the establishment of an Executive Office for AI Initiatives within the Ministry of Planning. A National Ethics Committee for AI is scheduled for 2027.
Human capital development is a central pillar. The government plans to launch a National Academy for Artificial Intelligence by 2028, integrate AI and digital ethics into school and university curricula by 2027, and establish national AI incubators for startups. The strategy also commits to providing scholarships and specialized AI training.
The strategy is explicit about the challenges it must overcome, citing the absence of a unified national AI body, legislative fragmentation, limited availability of high-quality data and shortages in specialized skills as the primary weaknesses it is designed to address.
For a country with a complex political environment, the simultaneous adoption of both a strategy and an ethics charter is a significant signal of intent. The government has been frank about its starting point — acknowledging the absence of a unified national AI body, legislative fragmentation, limited data availability and skills shortages — and has set out a structured, phased path to address each gap.
The launch comes during a busy year for African AI policymaking. Ghana, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have all launched national AI strategies in 2026, while South Africa’s draft National AI Policy has been the subject of intense debate following its withdrawal. These launches follow strategies already put in place by Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia and Zambia. The Libyan strategy is therefore by no means one of the first to be announced on the continent, but most African strategies remain in their first phases — and the Libyan government’s prioritization of AI sets clear national goals to capitalize on the opportunities and guard against the risks of the technologies.
