Egypt has emerged as a leading voice in the Middle East and Africa for tactful and responsible development of artificial intelligence, balancing rapid innovation with strong ethical safeguards, cultural relevance, and inclusive growth. The country’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (Second Edition, 2025-2030), launched by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in January 2025, exemplifies this measured yet ambitious approach.
The strategy builds on the foundational 2021 plan but incorporates lessons from the global rise of generative AI and large language models since 2022-2023. It positions AI as a core driver of sustainable development while prioritizing governance to mitigate risks such as bias, privacy breaches, and societal disruption.
Core Pillars of Egypt’s Tactful AI Framework: At its heart, the strategy rests on six strategic objectives designed to foster an ethical, competitive, and homegrown AI ecosystem. Ethical and Responsible AI Use Egypt has established a comprehensive regulatory system anchored by the Egyptian Charter for Responsible AI (launched earlier as part of phase one). This charter adapts international standards like UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, OECD principles, and ISO/IEC 42001 to local contexts, emphasizing human-centeredness, transparency, fairness, accountability, and privacy. A dedicated regulatory body is being nucleated, and Egypt actively contributes to global AI forums.
Sectoral Transformation and Quality of Life AI applications target key areas including healthcare, education, agriculture, and government services to boost efficiency and address national challenges aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Data Governance Frameworks promote secure data accessibility, sharing, and lifecycle management, supported by policies like the Personal Data Protection Law (2020), a National Open Data Policy, and forthcoming data governance legislation.
Robust Infrastructure Investments focus on scalable cloud services, computing power, and digital foundations, including pursuit of digital sovereignty through locally grounded models and energy-efficient systems.
Thriving Ecosystem Support for startups, SMEs, venture capital, and innovation aims to spawn over 250 successful AI companies by 2030.
Talent Development Efforts seek to double the number of AI professionals to 30,000 by 2030 through education, vocational training, and awareness programs.
Ambitious Yet Measured Targets
By 2030, Egypt aims for the ICT sector to contribute 7.7% to national GDP, with AI projected to generate around $42.7 billion in economic value. The strategy envisions 26% of the workforce (particularly marginalized groups) benefiting from AI tools, and 36% of the population accessing AI-powered products in daily life.
A flagship achievement is the unveiling of Karnak, Egypt’s first nationally developed, locally grounded large language model, named after the ancient Karnak Temple to symbolize cultural rootedness. This reflects the tactful emphasis on sovereign AI capabilities that preserve linguistic and contextual relevance, especially for Arabic.
Recent Milestones Highlighting Progress
Egypt ranked first in Africa for Government AI Readiness in the 2025 Oxford Insights Index (51st globally, up 14 places), and third in the Arab region for AI Resilience. In October 2025, the country launched an AI Readiness Assessment Report with UNESCO support, reinforcing alignment with global ethical standards.
In February 2026, Egypt hosted the inaugural AI Everything MEA summit in Cairo under GITEX Global, attracting global leaders to discuss infrastructure, sovereignty, and scalable deployment. The event underscored Egypt’s push to become a regional AI hub linking Africa, the Levant, and the GCC.
A draft Artificial Intelligence Law is advancing through consultations, converting voluntary ethical guidelines into binding rules focused on transparency, fairness, and protection of vulnerable groups.
A Balanced Path Forward:
Egypt’s approach stands out for its tactful integration of ambition with caution embracing AI’s transformative potential while embedding safeguards against misuse. By prioritizing ethical governance, local talent, cultural sovereignty, and inclusive benefits, the country seeks not just to adopt AI, but to shape it responsibly for “Digital Egypt” and broader regional progress. As President El-Sisi noted in the strategy’s foreword, AI represents human intellect’s potential; Egypt is channeling it thoughtfully toward sustainable, equitable advancement.
