Sri Lanka has taken a firm stance on the global stage, demanding that developing nations be granted an equal and meaningful role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence governance. Speaking at one of the world's most prominent technology forums, Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne delivered a pointed message to the international community: developing countries must no longer be treated as afterthoughts in decisions that will fundamentally reshape economies, societies, and human lives across the globe.
Sri Lanka Speaks Out at WAIC 2026
Addressing delegates at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026, held in Shanghai, China, Deputy Minister Weeraratne articulated a growing frustration shared by many nations across the Global South. His central argument was straightforward yet powerful — developing countries are consistently consulted only after major decisions regarding AI governance have already been made by wealthier, more technologically advanced nations. This approach, he argued, is fundamentally undemocratic and unsustainable in a world where artificial intelligence will touch every corner of the globe regardless of a nation's economic standing.
The WAIC conference serves as a critical annual gathering that brings together governments, technology companies, researchers, and policymakers from around the world to discuss the trajectory of artificial intelligence. Sri Lanka's participation and the boldness of its message underscored a shifting dynamic in global AI conversations, with smaller and developing nations increasingly refusing to remain on the sidelines of decisions that directly affect their futures.
The Core Demand: Inclusion, Not Consultation
Deputy Minister Weeraratne drew a sharp distinction between genuine inclusion and performative consultation. Many international AI governance processes, he noted, invite developing nations to comment on frameworks that have already been drafted and largely finalized by powerful governments and multinational technology corporations. This form of tokenistic engagement, he stressed, does not constitute real participation and fails to capture the diverse needs, challenges, and perspectives that countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific bring to the table.
True inclusion, according to Weeraratne, means that developing nations must have a seat at the table from the very beginning of the governance design process. Their voices must carry genuine weight in determining how AI systems are regulated, how data is managed across borders, how intellectual property frameworks are structured, and how the economic benefits of AI are distributed globally. Without this foundational shift, global AI governance risks becoming yet another arena where existing global inequalities are reinforced rather than challenged.
Why This Matters for the Global South
The stakes of AI governance for developing nations are extraordinarily high. Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming industries ranging from agriculture and healthcare to finance and education — sectors that are absolutely critical to the development aspirations of countries like Sri Lanka. How global AI standards are written will determine whether developing nations can harness these technologies on their own terms or whether they will be forced to adopt frameworks designed primarily to serve the interests of technologically dominant economies.
There is also the pressing question of AI safety, ethical standards, and algorithmic bias. AI systems trained predominantly on data from Western contexts have repeatedly demonstrated biases that disadvantage users from other cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Without meaningful input from developing nations during the governance design phase, these biases risk being institutionalized into the very frameworks meant to regulate AI globally.
Furthermore, issues of data sovereignty — who owns, controls, and benefits from the vast amounts of data generated by citizens of developing countries — remain deeply contested. Sri Lanka's call for equal participation is therefore not merely a political statement but a practical necessity for ensuring that AI governance frameworks are fair, effective, and genuinely global in scope.
A Growing Movement Among Developing Nations
Sri Lanka's position at WAIC 2026 reflects a broader and increasingly coordinated movement among developing nations to assert their rights within emerging global technology governance structures. Across international forums including the United Nations, the G20, and various regional bodies, voices from the Global South have been growing louder in demanding structural reforms that ensure equitable representation in technology policymaking.
This movement recognizes that the rules being written today around artificial intelligence will have consequences for decades to come. Getting these frameworks right — in a way that serves all of humanity rather than a privileged few — requires the active, substantive, and early participation of the full spectrum of the world's nations.
Looking Ahead
Deputy Minister Weeraratne's address at WAIC 2026 sends a clear signal that Sri Lanka intends to be an active and vocal participant in shaping the global AI governance conversation. As artificial intelligence continues its rapid advancement, the international community faces a defining choice: build governance structures that are truly inclusive and equitable, or risk deepening the technological and economic divides that already separate the world's nations. Sri Lanka, for its part, has made clear which path it believes the world must take.