Artificial Intelligence · Egypt
AI regulation in Egypt: laws & policy (2026)
Egypt shaded by its artificial intelligence status
AI in Egypt: guidelines only.
FrameworkNational AI Governance Framework (March 2026) issued by the National Council for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), built on the National AI Strategy (2025–2030) and the Egyptian Charter for Responsible AI (2023); a binding Draft AI Law is pending. The Personal Data Protection Law No. 151 of 2020 (PDPL) governs personal data used in AI.
Egypt does not yet have a binding, AI-specific statute in force; governance rests on a suite of voluntary instruments coordinated by the NCAI/MCIT — chiefly the National AI Strategy (2025–2030), the 2023 Egyptian Charter for Responsible AI, and the March 2026 National AI Governance Framework, which introduces a four-tier risk model modelled loosely on international standards (UNESCO, OECD, EU AI Act, G7 Hiroshima Process). A Draft Artificial Intelligence Law is under consultation and expected to move through parliament, while personal data used in AI systems is already regulated by the PDPL (Law 151/2020) and its 2025 Executive Regulations.
Key points
Second-edition strategy issued by the NCAI/MCIT sets six pillars (Governance, Technology, Data, Infrastructure, Ecosystem, Talent) with 2030 targets including ICT sector at 7.7% of GDP, 30,000 AI specialists, and 250+ AI startups. It is a policy roadmap, not binding law.
Soft-law charter issued by the NCAI setting five principles: human-centred design, transparency, justice, accountability, and security. Compliance is voluntary and it is explicitly framed as guidance, not enforceable regulation.
Guide published 15 March 2026 by the NCAI establishes a four-tier risk taxonomy — Tier 1 (Red) prohibited uses, Tier 2 (Orange) high-risk including critical infrastructure and biometrics, Tier 3 (Yellow) limited-risk (chatbots, deepfakes) with transparency/labelling, Tier 4 (Green) minimal-risk with a voluntary code of conduct — and lays out a roadmap toward sectoral rules. The framework operates as governance guidance pending the draft law.
A Draft Artificial Intelligence Law developed by MCIT and NCAI through a cross-sectoral consultation is progressing but has not been enacted as of Sept 2026; it would convert the framework's risk-based tiers into binding obligations. The Inter-Parliamentary Union has cited the process as a model for inclusive AI lawmaking.
Law No. 151 of 2020 (Personal Data Protection Law), whose Executive Regulations were issued in November 2025 with a one-year grace period, is the in-force horizontal regime that applies to personal data used to train, develop or operate AI systems; obligations reference 'locally, regionally and internationally recognised standards', pulling the Egyptian AI Charter into practice.
The National Council for Artificial Intelligence (established 2019, chaired by the ICT Minister) coordinates AI policy across ministries, academia and industry, with MCIT as the lead executive body and an AI Compliance Manual portal (aicm.ai.gov.eg) publishing guidance and the Charter.
Timeline - major decisions & events
Egypt issued the long-delayed implementing regulations for Personal Data Protection Law No. 151/2020 (Official Gazette Issue 244), setting binding rules on data controllers, processors and cross-border transfers that govern data used to train and run AI systems, with a one-year compliance grace period to ~November 2026.
Baker McKenzie ↗Egypt adopted the second edition of its National AI Strategy, built on six pillars (Governance, Technology, Data, Infrastructure, Ecosystem, Talent) and emphasizing 'sovereign AI', targeting AI/digital contribution of 7.7% of GDP and training 30,000 specialists by 2030.
ai.gov.eg (MCIT) ↗The OECD published its first AI policy review of Egypt, assessing the country's strategy, governance and implementation of the OECD AI Principles and recommending steps to strengthen its AI ecosystem and regulatory readiness.
OECD ↗Egypt began developing a binding AI law, reportedly influenced by the EU AI Act's risk-based approach, to convert the voluntary 2023 Charter principles into mandatory requirements with defined risk categories, oversight and penalties; it remains a draft and is not yet enacted.
Regulations.AI ↗The National Council for AI launched a voluntary charter built on five principles, human-centricity, transparency, fairness, accountability and security, operationalizing Egypt's commitment to the OECD AI Principles; it is to be reviewed annually.
ai.gov.eg (MCIT) ↗MCIT launched Egypt's first National AI Strategy, the foundational framework for applying AI to sustainable-development goals and positioning Egypt as a regional AI leader across the Arab world and Africa.
OECD.AI ↗Egypt's first comprehensive data protection law took effect (90 days after its July 2020 publication), creating consent, controller/processor obligations and penalties that underpin lawful data use for AI systems.
U.S. Library of Congress ↗President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ratified Egypt's first dedicated personal data protection statute, published in the Official Gazette on 15 July 2020, the legal backbone for data governance in AI applications.
MCIT ↗Egypt's Cabinet approved creation of the National Council for AI, chaired by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, to formulate and oversee national AI policy, the country's central AI governance body.
MCIT ↗Egypt - other topics
Artificial Intelligence in other countries
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