DCO Concludes LEAP 2026 with Partnerships and Digital Cooperation Milestones

The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) concluded its participation at LEAP 2026, during which the State of Palestine signed the DCO Charter, becoming a Signatory Member, and unveiled the Digital Prosperity Plan 2026–2028, co-developed with DCO to advance digital infrastructure and AI readiness, digital government, skills, startups, and SMEs.

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The signing followed the DCO Council’s earlier approval of eight candidate countries. Upon completion of accession procedures, DCO will expand from 16 to 24 Member States, representing approximately 980 million people and paving the way for a billion-strong voice for digital cooperation. Tajikistan is also on track to join the organization as an Associate Member, opening new opportunities to strengthen digital cooperation, access public-private partnerships, and collaborate on initiatives advancing digital innovation, skills, and inclusion, in line with its National Development Strategy through 2030.

DCO Secretary-General Ms. Deemah AlYahya led a ministerial conversation “Governing Growth: Building Human-Centered Digital Economies in an AI-Driven Era,” to discuss responsible innovation, digital business growth, AI-ready skills, investment and partnerships.

DCO joined Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and AMD to launch an open AI and open innovation ecosystem, complemented by a DevDay workshop equipping developers, startups and software engineers with open-source tools, technical training and ecosystem opportunities.

A Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on Strengthening Online Content Integrity convened media, technology platforms and partners at the DCO headquarters to address misinformation, AI-generated content and digital trust.

DCO also joined Saudi Arabia’s Digital Government Authority and ITL Estonia in discussions on data governance, trust and cross-border alignment; additionally, DCO joined Estonian digital leaders in a panel discussion “Built for Business: Estonia’s Digital Advantage” exploring trusted, resilient and future-ready digital economies.

Separately, DCO and the World Bank co-hosted the fireside chat “From Digital Ambition to Impact,” exploring policy, infrastructure, skills, financing and partnerships, plus a high-level roundtable at Elm Company on financing digital innovation to drive economic growth, jobs and inclusive development.

Through STRIDE, 30 startups from 11 Member States attended LEAP, connecting founders with investors, partners and markets through targeted matchmaking. Startups also participated in dedicated sessions with DCO Observers and partners, including Elm, ITL and Tools & Solutions, expanding opportunities for investment, partnerships and market access.

Source: AETOSWire

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