Member states of the East African Community (EAC) are working towards a harmonised regional approach to artificial intelligence (AI), with officials meeting in Uganda to discuss a common strategy.
The discussions are taking place during the 21st EAC Sectoral Council Meeting on Education, Science, Technology, Culture and Sports (ESTCS), which runs until Saturday.
Delegates are reviewing progress on previous council decisions and considering regional priorities, including the EAC Artificial Intelligence Strategy and digital Transformation Strategy.
Dr Fortunate Muyambi, deputy executive secretary and head of programmes and projects at the East African Science and Technology Commission, said the meeting provided an opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation in science, technology and innovation, particularly through a coordinated approach to AI.
He said the EAC AI Strategy, which has undergone national consultations across all partner states and a regional validation process in Kampala earlier this year, was a key item on the agenda.
“The strategy seeks to address one of the region’s major challenges,” Muyambi said.
“While AI innovation and adoption are already taking place across our partner states, these efforts require greater coordination, harmonised policy frameworks, shared infrastructure, investment in research and innovation, and stronger institutional collaboration.”
Headquartered in Tanzania, the EAC is an intergovernmental organisation comprising eight partner states: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The bloc has a combined population of around 322 million.
The Uganda meeting comes amid calls for AI governance to move beyond fragmented national policies towards a unified, risk-based regional framework.
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