Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu of Ethiopia, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), addressed the Regional Consultative Seminar on Harnessing Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity for Security, Cooperation, and Resilience in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 18, 2025. His remarks have been edited for length and clarity.
Across our region, we face complex security challenges, and these range from transnational crime and terrorism to cybercrime and border management gaps. Nevertheless, even within these challenges lies the opportunity for innovation through artificial intelligence and cyber-security solutions.
The future of regional security belongs to those who harness AI. I challenge us all to become active architects of our region’s digital security future.
Join me as we together imagine AI systems that help our law enforcement predict crime patterns, optimize resource deployment and detect threats in advance. Picture with me as AI-powered platforms improve border management and create safer, more connected communities.
Technology is already transforming security across our region. In Ethiopia, law enforcement agencies are implementing predictive policing algorithms to combat urban crime. Here in Kenya, AI-driven surveillance systems have reduced police response times by 40% and improved crime detection by 30%.
In Uganda, National Digital ID systems are enabling enhanced identity verification for security agencies. Beyond our region, Rwanda’s police force has become a regional model for AI-integrated community policing. In our own [IGAD] headquarters in the Republic of Djibouti, AI-powered port security systems are enhancing maritime safety across the Red Sea corridor.
In spite of these positive developments, we continue to face serious challenges. Cyberattacks account for 68% of successful breaches across our African continent. It is evident that criminal networks are increasingly targeting law enforcement databases, while terrorist organizations are exploiting our weak digital defenses.
I say that if we act decisively, the IGAD region and the greater Horn of Africa can lead in responsible AI deployment for security. By 2035, AI could contribute $180 billion to our regional gross domestic product while creating 2.5 million jobs, including critical cybersecurity roles.
However, projections show that we need 500,000 AI and cybersecurity professionals by 2030, and yet we are training fewer than 15,000 annually. In order to harness AI’s promise while guarding against its perils, I propose the following three principles for your consideration:
Harmonized security governance. We must establish regional AI ethics protocols for law enforcement, shared cybersecurity standards and cross-border incident response mechanisms. A regional AI strategy based on our member states’ data protection legislation provides models for balancing innovation with security.
Massive investment in security professionals. Let us launch the IGAD Digital Security Skills Initiative, training cybersecurity experts and establishing AI centers of excellence in each member state, with special focus on law enforcement applications.
Indigenous security innovation. I call upon us to create the IGAD AI Security Innovation Fund that shall support startups to address our unique regional challenges, ranging from border monitoring to anti-terrorism intelligence.
From this meeting, I further propose we adopt the “Nairobi Commitment,” which states that by 2030, every IGAD citizen benefits from AI-enhanced security while being protected from digital threats. This means governments allocating at least 2% of budgets to AI security infrastructure, the private sector committing to local talent development, and development partners providing technology transfer for our law enforcement agencies.
We stand at a digital crossroads. One path leads to AI amplifying our security capabilities, where every police officer accesses real-time intelligence, every border is monitored by smart systems and our citizens are protected by predictive security measures. The other path leads to digital colonialism, where our security data enriches distant corporations while cyber threats cripple our progress.
Together, we can transform AI challenges into opportunities and harness technology as a force for our collective security, human dignity and regional prosperity.