WAICO: Pakistan to Join Global AI Organisation as Founding Member
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar visits Shanghai to sign Pakistan’s founding membership of WAICO and participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2026.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar arrives in Shanghai to advance Pakistan's AI cooperation with China.
WAICO will welcome Pakistan as a founding member after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Shanghai on Thursday for a two-day visit focused on artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation.
According to the Foreign Office (FO), Dar will sign the agreement that makes Pakistan a founding member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), a global AI governance initiative that China proposed.
During the visit, Dar will participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026), where he will meet world leaders, policymakers and technology experts to promote international AI cooperation and equitable AI governance.
Dar will also hold bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and meet senior Chinese officials to discuss AI collaboration, technology partnerships and other issues of mutual interest.
During his engagements, Dar will present Pakistan’s vision for stronger international cooperation in artificial intelligence, with special emphasis on the development priorities of the Global South.
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He will call for greater access to AI technologies, stronger capacity-building programmes and wider international cooperation to ensure AI supports sustainable development and shared prosperity.
China introduced the WAICO initiative in 2025 as part of its strategy to strengthen global AI governance. During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China earlier this year, Pakistan endorsed the initiative and pledged to work with Beijing to improve international cooperation on artificial intelligence.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to outline Beijing’s vision for global AI governance during the conference. Technology giant Huawei will unveil its Atlas 950 SuperPoD, one of China’s most advanced AI computing systems designed to strengthen the country’s domestic AI infrastructure.
Chinese AI company DeepSeek will also showcase its latest AI model running entirely on Huawei’s Ascend processors, demonstrating China’s growing ability to develop independent AI ecosystems.
The conference comes as China and the United States prepare for their first government-level AI dialogue under President Donald Trump’s administration. Analysts expect the event to shape future discussions on AI governance, open-source development and international standards.
Alongside leading technology executives, the conference will host UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, senior government officials and internationally recognised AI researchers, highlighting the increasing global importance of artificial intelligence.
