• Excellency Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of FDRE
• Excellency Dr. Gedion Timotheos, Minister of Ethiopian Foreign Affairs
• Excellency Lerato D. Mataboge, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy.
• Excellency Amandeep Singh Gill, UN Under-Secretary-General on Digital and Emerging Technologies
• Excellencies Ministers, Ambassadors and Distinguished Representatives of the AU Member States, Foreign Countries and Partners
• Ladies and Gentlemen,
• All Protocol Observes

I am delighted to take part in this High-Level Policy Dialogue on the Development and Regulation of AI in Africa under the theme "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Africa`s Prosperity and Collaboration”. This dialogue could not have come at a better time considering the ongoing international discussions on global AI Cooperation and Governance.

At the outset, I wish to extend my gratitude to H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the whole Government for hosting this event and also congratulate Ethiopia for the leading role and efforts to advance equitable and inclusive Artificial Intelligence in Africa.

I wish also to thank the Institute for Security Studies for their unwavering support to the African Union and their commitment for peace and security and now engaging with us in this journey aiming at preparing Africa for the AI era.

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AI has emerged as one of the most disruptive forces in geoeconomics and geopolitics. Nowadays AI technologies are central to national economies and security, the projection of power, and the protection of national interests at global stage.

The massive expansion in the capability and use of AI reinforced the power and wealth of non-state actors and big tech companies as in January 2025, Apple’s market capitalisation was US$3.524 trillion, Nvidia’s was US$3.262 trillion, and Microsoft’s was US$3.101 trillion, each of which is comparable to the total 2023 GDP of the entire African continent of US$3.1 trillion.

The stakes are getting high as according to the "Global Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Economy and Jobs", every one dollar spent on business-related AI solutions and services will generate up to $4.60 into the global economy with a cumulative impact of $19.9 trillion and 3.5% of global GDP in 2030.

It is therefore imperative, to develop our individual and collective capacities in AI talent, datasets and compute facilities and create conducive environments for large and responsible AI development and adoption to empower our citizens and transform our continent.

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AI presents a leapfrogging opportunity for Africa to transform itself; it has the potential to significantly accelerate the attainment of Agenda 2063 goals. It can stimulate economic growth by creating new industries, driving innovation, and generating employment opportunities for women and youth. It can also contribute to the preservation of our rich and diverse cultural heritage.

With 60% of our population under the age of 25, mainly digital natives and tech-savvy youth, abundance of critical minerals necessary for the development of tangible AI infrastructure, a huge potential for renewable energy to support the deployment of green computing platforms, a huge amount of data that can be leveraged to develop AI systems along with a market potential of 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion. Our continent is well placed to embrace innovative AI technologies and put them at the center of our development agenda and play a leading role in shaping global AI landscape

The adoption of the AU Continental Strategy on Artificial Intelligence by the AU Executive Council in July 2024 marks a major step towards the development of vibrant, inclusive and sustainable African AI ecosystem. It reflects our commitment to develop the necessary AI capabilities, address AI related risks and maximise the benefits at all levels namely in strategic sectors such as education, health, agriculture, science and technology and delivery of public services among others.

Our vision is "Harnessing AI for Africa’s Development and Prosperity” with focus on making AI available for socio- economic development, fostering homegrown and domestic AI capacity, advancing a multisectoral and multistakeholder AI governance approach and promoting innovative regulations that can enable AI uptake in Africa and protect its people.

The Strategy builds on the agenda 2063 and relevant AU flagships and strategic frameworks such as the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa, AU Data Policy Framework, AfCFTA, PIDA, CAADP…. ext. It prioritizes Africa-centric, development-focused approach and emphasizes the need for Africa to finance its AI development and not exclusively rely on international investments to promote our identity and exercise sovereignty over AI systems and infrastructure.

The Development of an African AI Policy and an Action Plan to accelerate the implementation of the Continental Strategy will address the societal, ethical and regulatory challenges associated with AI that may affect our region and will create conditions for emergence of locally developed AI solutions that are adapted to our needs and geographical contexts as well as our rich cultural and linguistic diversity.
It is, therefore, our duty to anticipate both positive and negative implications of AI on our continent and prepare ourselves to collectively make profound choices in terms of investments, infrastructure, scientific research, training, but also strategic partnerships.

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At international level, we are facing a deficit in the international AI governance and the economic and social benefits of AI are geographically concentrated in developed nations and powerful tech corporations with the real risk of widening existing divides and creating fragmented AI regulations.

Attracting top AI Talent is becoming new geostrategic assets that fuel countries’ ambitions to reach AI leadership as major reforms are underway in some countries such as Australia, Germany and the Middle East to develop new value propositions to attract AI talent and expertise.

As we are in the implementation phase of the recommendations of the Global Digital Compact that was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2024 , I seize the opportunity of the presence of H.E. Amandeep Singh Gill, UN Under-Secretary-General on Digital and Emerging Technologies to advocate for fair and just representation of developing countries in defining the rules and international frameworks that will govern AI .

I also call for a proactive and significative African participation in international discussions and negotiation on AI and Data Governance to promote our perspectives as a region, preserve our common interests and ensure our nations and people equitably access to AI based resources and opportunities.

As I conclude, I extend my appreciations to the Government of Ethiopia, ISS, AU Member States, Invited Countries, Private Sector and Partners participating in this event for their collaboration in such a great initiative and I hope to see more of such open dialogues in the near future as this is one of the recommendations of our Continental AI Strategy.

It is with this kind of gathering that we can collaboratively unlock AI vast potential to empower our citizens and develop the Africa we want.

I wish all of us good deliberation.

Thank you for your attention