Indonesia Joins WAICO as Founding Member, Eyes Global AI Governance

JAKARTA - Indonesia has officially joined as one of the founding countries of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). This organization was formed to encourage the development of artificial intelligence or AI that is open, safe, and not dominated by a handful of countries. Indonesia's commitment was conveyed by Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto during a dialogue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Friday (17/7). Airlangga said Indonesia's participation was a follow-up to President Prabowo Subianto's instructions to accelerate the development and utilization of AI in the country. "We convey greetings from the President of Indonesia, Mr. Prabowo Subianto, and thank the Chinese government for having the initiative to form WAICO and inviting Indonesia as a founding country," said Airlangga as quoted from the official statement of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs. He emphasized that Indonesia is ready to work together through WAICO to build a global AI ecosystem that is open, inclusive, and beneficial to the community. In the same forum, Xi Jinping highlighted the risk of the dominance of AI technology by one country. According to Xi, the development of AI must promote human welfare and common progress. "The development of AI should not be a one-man show by one country, but a symphony of global collaboration," Xi said. China also offers the development of an open source-based AI platform that can be used and developed together. In the next five years, the country plans to hold a capacity-building program for millions of participants from various countries. The program is aimed at expanding access to technology and reducing the digital capability gap between countries. Photo with delegates who participated in the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). (IST) Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres also supports the establishment of WAICO. The organization is expected to be a forum for international cooperation to ensure that AI is developed in an inclusive and responsible manner, while supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. A number of heads of government, including the President of Kazakhstan as well as the prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand, also stressed the need for a global platform to regulate AI cooperation. The Indonesian government assesses that membership in WAICO can expand access to technology, strengthen national competitiveness, and open up cooperation for AI development with various countries. WAICO is designed to strengthen global governance in the field of AI. The challenge is that the organization must ensure that the rapidly evolving technology remains safe, fair, and can be utilized by countries with different digital capacities.