The second edition of the AI-Forward Summit 2026 concluded today, September 10, 2026, in Yasmine Hammamet, Republic of Tunisia, following two days of high-level strategic deliberations preceded by two days of specialized parallel workshops held from September 7 to 8. Convened under the theme “Shaping the Intelligence Future: From Vision to Value,” the summit was organized by the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO) in close collaboration with Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies, and took place in the presence of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. The gathering brought together more than 450 leaders, policymakers, international experts, researchers, and entrepreneurs from across the Arab region, Africa, and around the world, establishing an executive platform dedicated to moving past high-level roadmaps and accelerating the execution of measurable, high-impact artificial intelligence initiatives.
The proceedings opened with an artistic performance presented by the Tunis International Center for Digital Cultural Economy, followed by official addresses examining the rapid socio-economic shifts driven by emerging technologies and the urgency of establishing secure, sustainable, and inclusive digital ecosystems. In his welcoming remarks, Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor, Director General of AICTO, stressed that artificial intelligence is no longer merely an emerging tool, but a foundational driver reshaping economies, labor markets, digital sovereignty, and global power balances. He affirmed that building an intelligence-driven economy begins with fostering an intelligence-driven society, urging stakeholders to channel substantial investment into talent development, youth, women, and critical digital infrastructure. He underscored the need for resilient governance architectures capable of safeguarding digital sovereignty while translating technological ambition into tangible economic value through unified regional cooperation.
Highlighting the diplomatic and human dimensions of technology, Mohamed Ben Ayed, Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, warned of the growing risk of global technological polarization. He called for equitable, non-exclusive access to technological advancement, underscoring Tunisia’s commitment to comprehensive multilateral governance, technical capacity building, and knowledge transfer so that developing nations act as creators and standard-setters rather than mere consumers. He also championed regional linguistic and cultural diversity, calling for balanced representation of the Arabic language in modern AI models and insisting that artificial intelligence must consistently serve humanity as an instrument of equity, development, and peace.
The strategic imperative of self-reliance was echoed by Nabil Fahmy, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, who noted that the true regional challenge lies in shaping technological disruption to serve local citizens. He urged Arab nations to leverage their expansive market size and demographic dividend to build sovereign foundational capabilities across compute, datasets, and infrastructure, ensuring independent decision-making. Highlighting the balance between innovation, privacy, and cultural heritage, he referenced the Arab AI Strategy, the Arab Charter on AI Ethics, and the creation of the Arab Permanent Committee for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies as pivotal mechanisms for collective action. Supporting this global engagement, Ren Xianliang, Secretary-General of the World Internet Conference, commended the summit’s mission to foster human-centric intelligence, bridging digital divides, and expanding institutional cooperation between China, the Arab region, and international partners across infrastructure, digital health, and digital governance.
Delivering an address on behalf of Tunisia’s Minister of Communication Technologies, Haider El-Hraghi, CEO of the Center for Telecommunication Studies and Research, described artificial intelligence as a strategic pillar of national security and sustainable development that demands active digital diplomacy and harmonized cross-border regulations. He urged international partners to shift toward concrete deliverables through coordinated public-private partnerships, expanded computational capacity, and targeted support for local startups. Speaking on behalf of the International Telecommunication Union, Seizo Onoe, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, emphasized that no country can independently sustain an entire artificial intelligence value chain. Warning against fragmented, isolated national approaches, he advocated for open interoperability standards and highlighted global applications across healthcare, food systems, and disaster mitigation, while officially announcing the rollout of the ITU’s new AI for Good Lab to supply public infrastructure and guidance.
These themes translated into high-level policy dialogue during a dedicated leaders’ session titled “From Declaration to Implementation: Transforming Commitments into Coordinated Action,” featuring Eng. Abdulbaset Al-Baour, Chairman of Libya’s General Authority of Telecommunications and Informatics, and Dr. Huda Al-Wahidi, Deputy Minister of Telecom and Digital Economy in Palestine and Chairperson of AICTO’s Executive Board, moderated by Maryna Veuthey of RealTyme SA. Deliberations across the summit tackled core priorities established since the 2025 Tunis Declaration, addressing sovereign infrastructure, cloud compute, cyber defense resilience, and the regulatory challenges posed by evolving digital threats.
The summit marked the operational rollout of several major regional mechanisms, most notably the AI-MUSTAQBAL Readiness Index, conceived as an objective benchmark to measure artificial intelligence maturity and national readiness across the Arab ecosystem. Complementing this institutional milestone was the launch of the AWAIL Alliance, a dedicated regional network designed to connect female innovators and elevate women into leadership roles across deep-tech industries.
Healthcare took center stage during the second day’s dedicated track, “E-Health — Intelligent Health for a Healthier Future,” opened by Dr. Mustapha Ferjani, Tunisia’s Minister of Health. Dr. Ferjani outlined national efforts to deploy smart medical records, safeguard sovereign health data, and expand telemedicine to balance regional disparities, which culminated in an interactive, real-time crisis simulation demonstrating the predictive role of algorithms during biological and epidemiological emergencies.
Addressing commercialization and financial sustainability, the summit hosted the Regional AI Investment Forum, bridging gaps between sovereign funds, commercial investors, tech founders, and multilateral institutions to scale viable innovations into regional growth engines. Parallel sessions examined sector-specific applications in agriculture, cultural heritage preservation, and multi-generational digital adoption. The main summit was preceded on September 7 and 8 by extensive technical workshops, including the Internet Governance School, an AI governance program with Smart Africa, cross-border privacy sessions with the Council of Europe, and an ESCWA-AICTO workshop on Agentic AI and regional sovereignty, accompanied by an innovation showcase and a Startup Village supported by GIZ and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.
The summit culminated in the formal adoption of the “AI4ALL Declaration,” a unifying multilateral charter calling for shared responsibility, digital trust, and equitable technological progress that directly advances human well-being. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the AI-Forward 2026 Awards, recognizing pioneering regional initiatives that demonstrate responsible and impactful technological excellence. In its closing evaluation, the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization reaffirmed its dedication to working alongside regional governments, international bodies, and academic partners to steer the trajectory of artificial intelligence toward measurable development, lasting sovereignty, and shared prosperity.
