IGF 2026 WS #268 Bridging the AI Governance Divide: A Policy Roadmap for MENA

Description

AI governance in MENA is moving beyond principle-setting. Governments and firms are progressing from generative AI pilots toward wider deployment, including increasingly agentic systems, while capabilities to procure, evaluate, monitor and govern them remain uneven. The challenge is how countries and organizations with very different foundations can meet emerging expectations for interoperability, accountability, operational human oversight and evidence of effectiveness. MBRSG’s Bridging the AI Divide report examined unequal AI readiness across MENA and how regional cooperation could strengthen participation in global governance. In 2026, the policy challenge has evolved. The UAE’s announced framework for deploying agentic AI across government illustrates the pace of change, while other countries continue to face constraints in infrastructure, data, skills and regulatory capacity.. Building on the MBRSG-Google.org Bridging the AI Divide study of 327 AI and digital companies across ten MENA countries, this session asks what shared responsibility requires when countries are moving at different speeds. It applies a three-part lens: a common governance baseline; requirements adapted or phased according to risk, sector and institutional capacity; and scarce capabilities that could be shared or coordinated regionally. A short context update and a multistakeholder panel, representing regional research, industry and international governance bodies, will examine how experimentation can coexist with oversight and accountability; what evidence, metrics and reporting practices can support learning from pilots, failures and near misses; and which capabilities should be developed nationally, shared regionally and coordinated globally. Onsite and online participants will contribute examples from their own contexts. Onsite and online participants will contribute examples of governance and learning bottlenecks from their own contexts. The session will conclude with a MENA Shared Responsibility Agenda for AI Governance. The goal is not a uniform regional model, but practical cooperation that helps countries govern nationally, learn regionally and shape globally.

Policy Question(s)

A. How should responsibility for AI experimentation, oversight, accountability and institutional learning be shared among governments, deploying organizations, technology providers and technical communities when countries are moving at different speeds? B. What evidence, metrics and trusted reporting mechanisms could countries share to learn from AI deployment, failures and near misses while preserving security, confidentiality, public accountability and national context? C. How can MENA countries and stakeholders ensure that regional evidence and implementation experience meaningfully shape global AI-governance priorities, standards and cooperation mechanisms?

Expected Outcomes

Building on MBRSG’s regional research, this session will produce a concise MENA Shared Responsibility Agenda for AI Governance, informed by prepared speaker contributions and evidence shared by onsite and online participants. The agenda will identify: shared-responsibility propositions for governments, deploying organizations, technology providers, international organizations, research institutions and technical communities; practical priorities for regional cooperation, including shared implementation evidence, adaptable indicators, evaluation approaches, incident and near-miss learning, and access to scarce governance expertise; and mechanisms through which experience from MENA countries and stakeholders can contribute more meaningfully to wider AI-governance discussions. The outcome will distinguish areas of convergence from unresolved tensions, including transparency versus confidentiality, common baselines versus national adaptation, and shared responsibility versus diffuse accountability. It will not claim regional consensus or prescribe a uniform model. Findings will inform MBRSG’s continuing research and be shared with relevant policymakers and IGF intersessional communities.

Reference Document

Format

Theater Duration (minutes): 90 Format description: We propose a 90-minute theatre-style session with three segments:

Evidence and Recent Developments (10 minutes): A concise update on the 2025 Bridging the AI Divide research, highlighting accelerated generative and agentic AI deployment, continuing differences in national capabilities, and the need for shared responsibility, regional learning and participation in global AI-governance discussions.
Multistakeholder Panel Discussion (60 minutes): Experts from research, industry, international public administration and the technical community will examine how responsibility for experimentation, oversight and accountability should be shared; what evidence, metrics and trusted reporting practices can support learning from implementation, failures and near misses; and which governance capabilities should be developed nationally, shared regionally or coordinated globally.
Interactive Audience Discussion and Synthesis (20 minutes): Onsite and online participants will contribute governance bottlenecks, implementation lessons and underrepresented perspectives. The moderator will conclude by summarizing shared-responsibility propositions, practical regional cooperation priorities and unresolved policy tensions.

Hybrid Format

Hybrid Format: We will appoint dedicated onsite and online moderators to ensure balanced participation across both audiences. The online moderator will monitor the virtual platform, curate questions and comments, and introduce remote contributions at planned points during the panel and audience discussion. A shared Miro board will enable onsite and online participants to contribute examples of governance bottlenecks, implementation lessons and perspectives missing from wider AI-governance discussions. Contributions will be organized under three areas: national responsibility, regional cooperation and global participation. Selected examples will be brought directly into the panel discussion. During the interactive segment, questions and experiences will alternate between onsite and online participants. The online panelist will participate throughout the session rather than in a separate remote segment. The rapporteur will capture contributions from both audiences, including areas of agreement and unresolved tensions, for inclusion in the post-session MENA Shared Responsibility Agenda for AI Governance and support transparent post-session documentation.

Organizers

Organizer 1: Salem Fadi, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government Organizer 2: Akmaral Orazaly, MBRSG Organizer 3: Eiman Almarzooqi, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government Organizer 4: Saeed Al Amri, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government

Speakers

Speaker 1: Gilles Fayad, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG) Speaker 2: Akmaral Orazaly, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group Speaker 3: Salem Fadi, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group Speaker 4: Deniz Susar, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization Speaker 5: Rasha El Hallak, Private Sector, Asia-Pacific Group

Moderator

Salem Fadi, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group

Online Moderator

Eiman Almarzooqi, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group

Rapporteur

Saeed Al Amri, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group

Participant Benefits

What will participants gain from attending this session?

SDGs

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 9.5 9.b
Reduced Inequalities 10.2 10.6
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 16.7 16.8
Partnerships for the Goals 17.16 17.6 17.9

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