Finland intends to provide technical assistance to Zambia's national artificial intelligence (AI) plan as part of its commitment to increase support for the country's digital transformation drive.
The National AI Strategy 2024-2026 is a plan of leveraging AI-based technology to boost economic growth and improve public services.
This decision was part of negotiations held this week by the two nations in a high-level meeting with Finnish members of parliament and Zambian Ministry of Technology and Science, led by minister Felix Mutati.
According to a Ministry statement, the two sides reviewed joint partnership progress from 2020 to 2025 and agreed to expand cooperation to build a modern, digitally enabled economy, such as expanded digital health support and institutional twinning with Finnish innovation agencies.
Zambia believes that the European state's technical depth in AI governance, digital health, and public-sector innovation makes it one of its most important strategic partners in implementing the AI strategy.
One of the engagement's highlights is Finland's contribution to Zambia's data-driven development, which includes support for high-resolution geophysical surveys and geological data quality for the mining sector, groundwater mapping to guide climate resilience investments, and forestry management collaborations that introduced Finnish digital and satellite-based tools for sustainable land resource monitoring, according to the government.
Most significantly, the countries commended the national Telemedicine and AI Health Diagnostics Pilot, launched in 2024 and expanded in 2025 across 20 health institutions, to improve healthcare access, particularly in rural areas
The plan, which receives technical help from Finnish partners, incorporates remote diagnostics, AI-supported clinical analysis, and enhanced network connectivity for rural health clinics.
Mutati emphasised that the projects are a strong statement of confidence in Zambia's digital future, pointing out that the Zambian president's digital pro-gram is based on transparency, technology, and effective public service delivery, all of which Finland has expertise in.
“Finland is not just providing tools; they are helping us build capability, policy frameworks and institutional confidence,” he said.
The Ministry added: “As Zambia advances toward becoming a regional digital hub, both sides agreed to formalise new cooperation frameworks over the coming months.
The meeting closed with a shared commitment to ensure that technology, used responsibly and inclusively, becomes a catalyst for economic transformation, job creation and improved service delivery for every Zambian citizen.”
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