Scholars and experts from universities and research institutions attended the 2026 Global South Modernization Forum in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, where they discussed AI opportunities and governance challenges.
Under the theme "The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Challenges for Modernization in the Global South," the forum gathered more than 100 experts and scholars from nearly 30 countries and regions.
Participants said innovation in AI technology presents enormous opportunities while also posing governance challenges.
"It's essential for the Global South to establish what's called Sovereign Artificial Intelligence. It is based on internal data, developed locally, to prevent the risks of foreign control on our AI and allow us to be independent," said Abdel Malik Mezhouda, Director General of the National School of Administration, Algeria.
At the 18th BRICS Summit earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward important initiatives to empower new industrialization with AI and promote open-source and inclusive AI development.
Participants at Wednesday’s forum echoed these calls, urging efforts to improve global AI governance, practice genuine multilateralism, bridge the AI divide and ensure that development and security reinforce each other.
"Governments should really start talking about regulating this sector. We should have policies, we should have regulations on the restrictions of using this technology. We should have clear guidelines on using this technology. It is very [useful]. We need this technology, but as I said, again, we should have the directions, regulations, policies. Governments should start to talk now. We don't want to keep the AI dominated by certain governments. It should be accessible by all nationalities, all people. And China has been putting a lot of efforts, a lot of strong role in making this future technology accessible for everyone around the world," said Mohamed Al Issai, Assistant Dean of Mazoon College, Oman.
They also called for greater exchanges and mutual learning in AI, noting that universities in many countries could benefit from knowledge sharing with Chinese universities.
"Several Chinese universities approached us and we've been talking for the last week about this issue. We are trying to do what we call an AI Hub on the campus. We are trying to see how we collaborate on this and how they can help us in building this. I'm a little bit of an optimist, and I think they can help us, and we can build the AI hub that we want," said Professor Mohamed Refaat, Vice President of Cairo University.
The forum was jointly hosted by the State Council Information Office of China, the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Renmin University of China and Cairo University.
The event featured four parallel forums. "The Rise of the Global South: An Atlas of Academic Research on Modernization in the Global South" and "Top 10 Buzzwords in Global South Modernization Research of 2026" were released at the forum.
Academic exhibitions, youth exchanges and think tank seminars were also held before and after the forum.
Global South experts explore AI opportunities and governance challenges
