Cameroon, along with 28 other countries, signed the agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, WAICO, a new intergovernmental body aimed at strengthening international cooperation and global governance in artificial intelligence. The agreement was signed in Shanghai, China, ahead of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, held from July 17 to 20 under the theme: “AI Partnerships for a Brighter Future.” The Minister of Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, signed on behalf of the country.
WAICO will be headquartered in Shanghai and run as an independent intergovernmental organization, tasked with promoting international cooperation and global governance in AI, according to details reported by China’s Xinhua news agency. Its stated goals include ensuring AI development is safe, fair and beneficial, upholding the core purposes of the UN Charter, and adopting a people-centred, consultative approach to shared technological gains.
For Cameroon, membership carries direct economic weight. Speaking in Shanghai, Minister Libom Li Likeng linked the country’s participation to its national Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy, framing AI cooperation as a route to equitable access to computing infrastructure, financing, data and technological resources currently concentrated among a small number of countries. She said the strategy prioritizes digital infrastructure, skills development and innovation, alongside data protection, cybersecurity and ethical oversight.
Addressing the wider stakes for the Global South, the minister said: “It is therefore essential to ensure that no country or region is left on the margins of the global decision-making process. African countries and, more broadly, countries of the Global South must therefore be neither mere users of technologies developed elsewhere nor passive recipients of standards designed without their participation.”
She called for concrete partnerships in training, research, knowledge transfer, financing and equitable access to infrastructure and data, arguing that such cooperation is needed to reduce technological inequalities between nations.
The minister also cited a 2023 UN General Assembly statement delivered on behalf of President Paul Biya, who described digital and AI tools as capable of securing “the survival of humanity and a better future” if used wisely.
Libom Li Likeng said the government “reaffirms its commitment to promoting human-centered artificial intelligence that respects fundamental rights, supports sustainable development and serves the interests of all humanity.”
WAICO, stakeholders say, is the first global AI cooperation body of its kind, with its governance and funding structures expected to shape how member states, including Cameroon, access AI infrastructure, data and investment in the coming years.
Mercy Fosoh
