Pakistan on Thursday officially became a founding member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar signed the agreement establishing the organisation in Shanghai, China, the Foreign Office (FO) announced.
In a statement shared on X, the FO said, “Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar signed the agreement on the establishment of the WAICO on behalf of Pakistan at the signing ceremony held today in Shanghai, China.”
The FO said Pakistan’s participation as a founding member reflects its commitment to strengthening global cooperation on artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on the interests and priorities of the Global South.
“Pakistan looks forward to working closely with fellow WAICO member states in efforts to help bridge the global AI divide and to promote equitable access to AI to advance development for all,” the FO added.
Earlier in the day, Dar arrived in Shanghai to sign the agreement. China had first proposed establishing WAICO last year as part of its efforts to promote international AI governance.
According to the FO, the deputy prime minister is also attending the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026, where he is expected to engage with international leaders on advancing AI cooperation and promoting inclusive and equitable governance of the technology.
During the visit, Dar was also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior officials to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Meeting with Chinese foreign minister
On the sidelines of WAIC 2026, Dar met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for talks focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation.
The FO said the two leaders reviewed the full scope of Pakistan-China relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further enhancing the longstanding All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.
Both sides highlighted the importance of advancing high-quality development under CPEC 2.0 while expanding collaboration in trade, investment, science and technology, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.
They also exchanged views on recent regional and global developments and reiterated their commitment to maintaining close coordination on matters of shared interest.
The FO said the meeting underscored the two countries’ commitment to innovation-led development and deeper strategic cooperation in emerging technologies.
Dar begins China visit
Dar arrived in Shanghai earlier on Thursday for a two-day visit and was received by Shanghai Vice Mayor Wu Wei, Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires to China Aizaz Khan and Consul General Shahzad Ahmad Khan.
Besides attending the WAICO signing ceremony, he is participating in WAIC 2026 to engage with global leaders on AI cooperation and governance.
China unveiled the idea of creating WAICO during last year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where Premier Li Qiang emphasised international AI governance and open-source development.
During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China in May, Pakistan had expressed support for the initiative, describing it as an important step towards ensuring artificial intelligence benefits all countries. Islamabad also pledged to work with Beijing to strengthen global AI governance and international cooperation.
Focus of WAIC 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to present China’s vision for global AI governance during the conference, while Huawei is set to unveil its Atlas 950 SuperPoD AI computing system, showcasing China’s efforts to develop advanced AI infrastructure without relying on the most advanced US-made chips.
The system uses thousands of Huawei Ascend AI processors connected through high-speed interconnects to function as a unified computing cluster for large-scale AI training and inference.
Chinese AI company DeepSeek has also adapted its latest V4 model to operate entirely on Huawei’s Ascend chip clusters, reflecting Beijing’s progress in developing an AI ecosystem independent of US technology. Domestic chipmakers, including Biren and MetaX, are also expected to introduce new AI computing platforms during the event.
The conference comes ahead of the first government-level AI talks between Washington and Beijing under US President Donald Trump’s administration, placing WAIC at the centre of growing competition over global AI standards.
At a recent United Nations dialogue, the two countries presented contrasting approaches to AI governance. While the US argued that excessive regulation could hinder innovation, China promoted its low-cost, open-source AI models as a means of reducing global inequality in access to artificial intelligence.
“Against this backdrop, WAIC has become more than a technology showcase; it is now a geopolitical stage where Beijing seeks to articulate its vision of AI as both a national priority and a diplomatic instrument,” wrote George Chen, chair of digital practice at the Asia Group.
The conference is being held alongside a High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, where updates on WAICO and China’s Global AI Governance Initiative are expected.
Beijing is also expected to advocate for open-source AI as an affordable alternative to Western technologies.
“The development of AI must never move toward a technological monopoly that walls itself in, but should always be anchored to the fundamental goal of serving humanity,” read a People’s Daily commentary this week.
The event has attracted several international leaders, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, along with nine Turing Award and Nobel laureates such as Yoshua Bengio and Richard Sutton. Chinese firms are also expected to unveil a range of new AI products, including AI-powered smartphones developed by Nubia and startup StepFun.
