Indonesia Joins China-Initiated World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization
Shanghai (ANTARA) – Indonesia has officially joined the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a global artificial intelligence body initiated by China.
Indonesia’s participation was marked by the signing of the WAICO founding document on Thursday (16/6) by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, on the direction of President Prabowo Subianto, as conveyed in a Limited Cabinet Meeting on 13 July.
“This signing was carried out on President Prabowo’s instruction to promote economic development that accelerates the United Nations’ sustainable development agenda and impacts the welfare of people around the world,” Airlangga said in a written statement in Shanghai on Thursday (16/6).
A total of 29 countries signed the WAICO founding document, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Russia’s Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Maxim Oreshkin, and representatives of Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa and others. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also attended.
“Indonesia needs to be directly involved in international cooperation and global governance on AI for its healthy development, towards outcomes that are beneficial, safe and fair for the interests of all humanity, in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” Airlangga added.
The document, titled “Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO)”, states that the signatory countries agree to establish WAICO as an independent intergovernmental international organisation endowed with international legal personality, and all countries signing the agreement will become Founding Members and Member States of WAICO.
According to the agreement, the organisation will uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, commit to broad consultation and shared contribution for mutual benefit, and adopt a human-centred approach.
WAICO also aims to promote international cooperation and global governance on AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, thereby encouraging its healthy and orderly development for the good of all humanity.
Airlangga stressed that Indonesia’s presence as a Founding Member of the organisation is a strategic step to ensure the direction of global AI governance remains human-centric and delivers equitable benefits to all countries, particularly developing nations, in driving development progress and boosting economic growth.
“Today’s signing of the WAICO founding agreement is an important milestone for all of us. Through this platform, Indonesia is committed to playing an active role in bridging the global AI divide and ensuring AI is managed in a way that is safer, more trustworthy and more ethical,” Airlangga added.
Prior to the signing, a meeting was held with Chinese President Xi Jinping and with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The formation of WAICO coincided with the series of events of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 in Shanghai.
WAIC was first held in 2018 as a technology exhibition and an effort to promote global partnership in AI development and regulation.
WAIC 2026 is being staged at three different locations in Shanghai, featuring 1,400 speakers from home and abroad, including nine Nobel and Turing Award laureates as well as company leaders and policymakers. It involves 1,100 companies showcasing 3,000 products and technologies, including more than 300 products making their global debut.
Participating companies include Chinese technology giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Baidu, as well as various Chinese AI companies such as MiniMax, StepFun and Zhipu AI.
In the robotics and automation sector, attendees include Unitree, Fourier Intelligence and AgiBot, alongside startups such as Zero Degree, and computing and chip companies such as Oriental Computing (with the first 3D chip in its class), Muxi, Tianshu Zhixin and Moore Threads.
The year 2026 is referred to in China as the first year of AI agent deployment, in which AI shifts from merely being able to communicate to delivering real productivity by carrying out tasks autonomously.
Another major trend is the development of embodied AI, or artificial intelligence in physical form, such as humanoid robots that have begun working in factories and warehouses rather than serving merely as displays.