AI regulation in Cambodia: laws & policy (2026)

MPTC Minister Seng Sopheap showcased Cambodia's draft National AI Strategy and digital government progress at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the first major international presentation of Cambodia's AI ambitions, signalling the strategy's imminent formal adoption.

Co-organised by MPTC, UNESCO, and UN-ESCAP in Phnom Penh, the workshop gathered 450+ representatives from government, private sector, academia, and civil society to finalise the Draft National AI Strategy, the culmination of over a year of drafting and public consultation.

MPTC released a formal press release detailing progress on the National AI Strategy, the National AI Governance Framework, and foundational legislation (data protection, cybersecurity), and deployed the Cambodia AI government portal at ai.gov.kh as a central hub for AI policy and tools.

After 12 internal working sessions and UN-ESCAP technical review support, MPTC's AI Working Group produced the first complete draft of the National AI Strategy, Cambodia's first comprehensive, forward-looking AI governance document.

MPTC convened Cambodia's inaugural national AI Forum at the Hyatt Regency, bringing together ~100 technology leaders, regional experts, and academics to discuss generative AI, Khmer NLP, and computer vision; also marked the public launch of the TranslateKh AI translation platform.

CADT and UNESCO, with MPTC backing, launched Cambodia's Ethics of AI Readiness Assessment on 12 November 2024, ultimately engaging 300+ stakeholders across 26 ministries; the final report (published mid-2025) made Cambodia the fourth Southeast Asian state to complete the internationally recognised five-dimension AI governance audit.

At the Fourth ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN), all 10 ASEAN states including Cambodia endorsed the voluntary ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics, establishing shared regional principles on transparency, fairness, security, and accountability, Cambodia's first formal AI governance commitment.

MPTC published a draft Law on Personal Data Protection (LPDP) for consultation on 25 July 2023, modelled substantially on the EU GDPR; the law remains unenacted but is identified as a critical enabling instrument for responsible AI data governance in Cambodia.

The Royal Government adopted the Digital Government Policy 2022-2035, setting the institutional and infrastructure roadmap for AI deployment in public services and referencing AI as a tool for government efficiency, the direct precursor to the National AI Strategy.

The Royal Government adopted the foundational Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework 2021-2035, establishing the strategic pillars of infrastructure, digital trust, digital citizens, digital government, and digital business, the top-level policy umbrella under which all subsequent AI strategy work sits.

MPTC circulated Version 0 of a draft Cybersecurity Law on 6 February 2021; subsequent revisions drew civil-society criticism for broad ministerial powers. As of early 2026 the law remains unenacted, a gap that Cambodia's own UNESCO readiness assessment identifies as a structural weakness in its AI governance framework.