Global South seeks AI voice at Cairo forum

By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.

An illustration of artificial intelligence featuring a robotic hand and a laptop. /VCG

The 2026 Global South Modernization Forum opened in Cairo on September 30 with more than 100 experts and scholars from nearly 30 countries and regions meeting under one theme, "The AI Wave: Opportunities and Challenges for Global South Modernization."

Participants said artificial intelligence offers major opportunities but warned that the rules governing it are being written without them. They called for stronger global AI governance, a commitment to multilateralism and efforts to close the AI divide.

Global South countries are at a critical stage, they said, working to overcome barriers to development, build capacity and find new sources of growth. AI, they argued, should strengthen those countries' ability to drive their own development rather than deepen their dependence. 

They described AI as a shared resource for all humanity, and urged countries to seize the moment by applying the technology across industries, sharing knowledge, supporting open-source development, and deepening research so it benefits humanity.

The forum was jointly hosted by China's State Council Information Office, 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. Two reports were released – "The Rise of the South: Mapping Academic Research on Global South Modernization" and "Top 10 Keywords in Global South Modernization Research, 2026," – and academic exhibitions, youth exchanges and think tank discussions ran alongside.