By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
Kenya and France have
discussed ways to strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI)
governance, environmental sustainability, online child safety and emerging
technologies as global efforts to move AI governance from principles to
institutions and implementation continue.
Kenya’s Special Envoy on
Technology, Ambassador Philip Thigo, said he held a wide-ranging discussion
with France’s Ambassador to Kenya, Wadid Benaabou, on shared priorities across
critical and emerging technologies.
The engagement builds on a
series of Kenya–France exchanges, including the Paris AI Action Summit, the
Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, the G7 Summit in Évian, the UN Global
Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva and engagements during the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA).
Thigo also noted that
Benaabou had taken up his role as France’s Permanent Representative to the
United Nations in Nairobi.
The discussions covered how
the two countries could carry their cooperation forward, including through the
Paris Peace Forum, with a focus on the environmental sustainability of AI,
child safety online, and agency and sovereignty for AI middle powers.
They also examined the role
of AI in reinvigorating startup ecosystems and the creative economy.
Thigo said Kenya and France
had discussed sustaining their leadership in the multilateral arena by
reinforcing the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the International
Scientific Panel.
The discussions come as
global AI governance efforts increasingly focus on translating principles into
institutions and implementation, with greater participation from countries
seeking to shape their own technological futures.
Thigo described the
engagement as “a strong foundation for the next phase of Kenya–France
cooperation on technology, innovation, and global AI governance.”
