• Government to launch Morocco Digital for Sustainable Development at UNGA

• Initiative backed by UNDP to strengthen digital governance and AI adoption

• Morocco ranks 4th in Africa on UN e-government index, above global average

Morocco will officially launch an Arab-African center of excellence in artificial intelligence and data science during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, which begins on September 23. Backed by the UN Development Program (UNDP), the Morocco Digital for Sustainable Development (D4SD) hub aims to promote inclusive digital transformation across Arab states and African regions.

The initiative stems from a memorandum of understanding signed in July between Morocco and the UNDP, on the sidelines of the National AI Forum. According to the UN agency, the partnership will help countries improve digital public services, encourage responsible AI use, and build institutional and regulatory systems to support digital transformation and sustainable development.

UNDP highlighted Morocco’s leadership in digital governance, AI, and data science. The country ranks 90th worldwide and 4th in Africa in the 2024 UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI), with a score of 0.6841 out of 1, above both the African and global averages. In September 2023, Morocco also launched its “Digital Morocco 2030” strategy to consolidate its progress and accelerate socio-economic development through digital innovation.

The initiative comes as digital benefits remain unevenly distributed across Africa. According to UNDP, countries still face systemic barriers such as weak infrastructure, limited AI capacity, low investment in digital innovation, and uncoordinated regulatory frameworks.