TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia has officially joined the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), initiated by China. The participation was marked by the signing of WAICO's founding document on Thursday, June 16, 2026, by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, following President Prabowo Subianto's directive delivered at a cabinet meeting on July 13.
"This signing was carried out at President Prabowo's direction to encourage economic development that accelerates the UN's sustainable development agenda and impacts the welfare of people worldwide," Airlangga said in a written statement in Shanghai on Thursday, June 16, 2026, as reported by Antara.
The WAICO founding document was signed by 29 countries, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi; Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev; Laotian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane; Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar; Russian Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Maxim Oreshkin; representatives from Brazil and South Africa; and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
"Indonesia needs to be directly involved in international cooperation and global governance on AI for its healthy development and progress toward a beneficial, safe, and equitable direction for the benefit of all humanity, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," Airlangga added.
The "Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO)" document states that the signatory countries agree to establish WAICO as an independent, intergovernmental international organization granted international legal personality. All signatories will become founding and Member States of WAICO.
According to the agreement, the organization will uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, commit to broad consultation and joint contributions for the common good, and adopt a human-centered approach.
WAICO also aims to foster international cooperation and global governance related to AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe, and equitable, thereby promoting its healthy and orderly development for the benefit of all humanity.
Coordinating Minister Airlangga emphasized that Indonesia's presence as a founding member of the organization is a strategic step to ensure that the direction of global AI governance remains human-centric and provides equitable benefits for all countries, particularly developing nations, in driving development and economic growth.
"Today's signing of the agreement establishing WAICO is an important milestone for all of us. Through this forum, Indonesia is committed to taking an active role in bridging the global technological capability gap (bridging the AI divide) and managing AI to make it safer, more trustworthy, and ethical," Airlangga added.
Prior to the signing, a meeting was held with Chinese President Xi Jinping and with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The establishment of WAICO coincided with the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 in Shanghai. WAIC was first held in 2018 as a technology exhibition and an effort to foster global partnerships in AI development and regulation.
WAIC 2026, held across three locations in Shanghai, invited 1,400 speakers from Indonesia and abroad, including nine Nobel Prize and Turing Award winners, alongside corporate leaders and policymakers. A total of 1,100 companies showcased 3,000 products and technologies, including more than 300 products making their global debuts.
Participating companies include Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, Alibaba, and Baidu, as well as various Chinese AI companies like MiniMax, StepFun, and Zhipu AI.
In the robotics and automation sector, Unitree, Fourier Intelligence, and AgiBot are present, alongside startups like Zero Degree, and computing and chip companies like Oriental Computing (with its first-of-its-kind 3D chip), Muxi, Tianshu Zhixin, and Moore Threads.
In China, 2026 is billed as the first year of AI agent deployment, when AI will move beyond communication capabilities to real productivity, performing tasks autonomously.
Another major trend is the development of embodied AI, or artificial intelligence in physical form, such as humanoid robots that are already working in factories and warehouses, rather than simply serving as display objects.
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