Tech Diplomacy News: 3rd Annual Technology Diplomacy Award Announced
| Her Excellency Deemah AlYahya Awarded the 3rd Annual Technology Diplomacy Award at The Montgomery Summit 2026 Santa Monica, CA – February 23, 2026 |
The Montgomery Summit, a premier technology conference hosted by LA-based VC firm March Capital, today announced that Her Excellency Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), will receive the 3rd annual Technology Diplomacy Award in partnership with the Tech Diplomacy Network. The award recognizes Her Excellency as the first Saudi woman to lead an international organization. Under her stewardship, the DCO has grown from five founding member states to 16 countries worldwide, representing more than $3.5 trillion in combined GDP and over 800 million people. The Montgomery Summit & Tech Diplomacy Network will celebrate Her Excellency’s work in bringing governments and industry together to address the reality that billions of people remain offline, and many communities still lack the digital skills as well as basic technology to participate in today’s economy. With her involvement, the DCO has earned formal recognition within the United Nations system. Across her career, Her Excellency has led initiatives specifically focused on expanding digital skills for women and entrepreneurs. These efforts include supporting more than 480 startups, launching 4 innovation centers to support digital transformation, training more than 26,000 women in tech and entrepreneurship, and building a network of more than 100 women investors. Earlier this year, DCO Member States unanimously reaffirmed their confidence in her leadership by renewing her mandate for a second term as Secretary-General, further reinforcing her selection for the Technology Diplomacy Award. “Creating a new multilateral organization and earning the trust of governments and industry leaders across regions is incredibly difficult,” said Jamie Montgomery, Founder of The Montgomery Summit and Co-Founder & Managing Partner at March Capital. “Technology is central to economic growth and national competitiveness, and Her Excellency has helped bring leaders together to address those realities in a practical way. We’re honored to recognize her at the Summit.” As part of the award program at The Montgomery Summit, Her Excellency AlYahya will participate in a fireside chat on March 11th with Keith Strier, SVP of Worldwide AI Markets at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Tech Diplomacy Network member, where they will discuss global technology cooperation, digital infrastructure, and the role of public–private partnerships in shaping the future of the digital economy. “Her Excellency Deemah AlYahya embodies what multilateral tech diplomacy looks like when employed in the right way,” said Martin Rauchbauer, Founder of the Tech Diplomacy Network. “She has not only built a new multilateral institution from the ground up, but has done so with a clear focus on inclusion, trust, and real-world impact. Under her leadership, the Digital Cooperation Organization has become a credible global platform that brings governments and industry together to close digital divides, expand digital skills, and ensure that technological progress serves people rather than leaving them behind. Her Excellency’s work demonstrates that effective global tech cooperation is possible—and urgently needed—and it is precisely this combination of vision, execution, and diplomacy that the Tech Diplomacy Award was created to honor.” Deemah AlYahya Bio Her Excellency Deemah AlYahya is the founding Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), where, as the first Saudi woman to lead an international organization, she advances inclusive and sustainable global digital economies. Prior to joining the DCO, she served as CEO of Saudi Arabia’s National Digital Transformation Unit, leading the country’s national digital transformation strategy while overseeing initiatives such as Saudi Codes, which trained more than 1.2 million individuals in digital skills. Other notable roles include becoming the first Saudi woman in a leadership role at Microsoft and the first woman to lead e-services at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as roles at Tadawul and Samba. In addition to her executive leadership, Her Excellency serves as a Commissioner with the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and as a member of a global advisory body focused on the resilience of critical digital infrastructure. Her commitment to strengthening digital governance is ultimately reflected in her board service, where she serves in advisory roles with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, the Saudi National Bank, the E-commerce Council, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones. Her Excellency holds a BA in Computer Science from King Saud University and has completed executive programs at INSEAD and Harvard Business School. |
| News Roundup Global A recurring theme at Davos 2026 last month was the gap between technological invention and large-scale deployment: across sessions on AI, clean energy, and autonomous systems, leaders converged on the idea that the central challenge of innovation is no longer discovery, but rather institutional capacity requiring the alignment of infrastructure, workforce readiness, better governance, and public trust. Technology experts at the Atlantic Council are forecasting an AI-defined geopolitical landscape in 2026, with U.S.-China competition intensifying across markets, infrastructure, and influence operations. Key themes include the rise of “AI poisoning” through disinformation, AI-enabled cognitive warfare campaigns, and increased coordination on norms through mechanisms like the UN’s new Global Dialogue on AI Governance. Cybersecurity forecasts point to an increasingly dangerous threat landscape in 2026, with state-backed actors from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea expected to expand operations targeting critical infrastructure, elections, and the semiconductor sector. As AI systems become increasingly embedded in economic, political, and cultural life, a growing body of analysis warns power is migrating from governments to a handful of tech companies, with states increasingly reluctant to regulate for fear of stifling innovation or losing geopolitical ground. Writing for Rest of World, Simon Chesterman argues today’s tech giants function as “silicon sovereigns,” setting rules, policing speech, and shaping labor markets in ways once reserved for states: ”the first true AI emergency may not be an existential catastrophe but the steady hollowing out of public authority.” Read January’s global digital policy roundup from Tech Policy Press here. North America Global perceptions of tech giants are changing under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, as for years, firms like Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon tried to present themselves as international by building overseas offices, data centers, and governance bodies. Now, political conflict is pulling them closer to Washington’s orbit, a “re-Americanization” that creates a dilemma for Big Tech as it tries to stay aligned with the U.S. while maintaining trust and influence in foreign markets, Alexandre Piquard writes for Le Monde. New analysis from the Peterson Institute for International Economics examines how allies are being asked to restructure supply chains around U.S.-led coordination, but must now factor in American political instability alongside Chinese supply threats: “US allies are being asked to price in Chinese risk while increasingly having to also price US risk into their diversification strategies. whether they conclude that this trade is worth making and sustaining is now an open question,” Cullen Hendrix writes. AI companies secured roughly half of all global venture capital in 2025, but immigrant women founders are being systematically locked out of this boom, with female founders receiving just 2% of all U.S. venture funding despite making up more than a quarter of startups. Compounding biases around gender, race, and elite network access mean immigrant women face steeper barriers than both their male immigrant peers and U.S.-born female founders. “The risk in not funding women-led AI startups is that we hard-code today’s bias into tomorrow’s infrastructure,” says Columbia Business School professor Angela Lee. Digital protesters opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are increasingly using leaks, mapping tools, and counter-surveillance tech to disrupt deportation operations that have dramatically ramped up under Trump’s second administration. A major data breach involving the Department of Homeland Security exposed thousands of staff records, underscoring the growing use of “hacktivism” and how immigration enforcement has become a flashpoint in wider debates over civil liberties and state power. Officials condemned the tactics as illegal, while critics argue the backlash reflects growing unease with mass surveillance and deportation policies. The U.S. State Department is reportedly building a website to let people access content banned in Europe and other countries, possibly using a built-in virtual private network to mask users and avoid tracking. Washington frames it as defending digital freedom, but officials worry it could strain relations with European allies and appear to encourage people to bypass local laws, a move that comes amid ongoing clashes over EU rules that force platforms to remove hate speech, extremist propaganda, and disinformation. A recent Tech Transparency Project report found Elon Musk’s X was selling paid premium accounts that can boost reach to dozens of Iranian government and state-media accounts, including some sanctioned officials, potentially violating U.S. rules. Anthropic’s 200 million USD AI contract with the U.S. Department of Defense is now under review, as the company hopes to ensure its models will not be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance. The Pentagon insists on using them for any lawful military purpose without restrictions, and talks have stalled in a dispute highlighting growing tension over how advanced AI should be used in national security. This week, Mark Zuckerberg testified in a major trial over claims that Instagram was deliberately designed to be addictive and harmed children’s mental health, ultimately rejecting the accusation and saying parent Meta handled youth safety “in a reasonable way.” The verdict could influence similar lawsuits and potentially cost tech companies billions or force major platform changes, as parents claim the app “preyed on and exploited their children in the name of profits,” Clare Duffy, Samantha Delouya, and Veronica Miracle report for CNN. Africa A total digital blackout in Uganda, which coincided with general elections that extended Yoweri Museveni’s 40-year rule by another five years, caused several disruptions for both citizens and the government, occurring as part of a broader trend of internet shutdowns across the continent in the past year during elections, conflicts, and protests. Morocco has launched a national AI strategy targeting billions in contribution to the nation’s GDP, the creation of 50k new jobs, and 200k trained graduates by 2030. The initiative frames AI as a matter of national sovereignty, with the government positioning Morocco as a producer of AI technologies rather than only a consumer. Key infrastructure announcements include a National Data Factory, a sovereign cloud facility, and a planned 500-megawatt renewable-powered data center, alongside a network of regional Centers of Excellence designed to bring AI capacity to all 12 of the country’s regions. The nation also signed a joint research agreement with French AI company Mistral AI to support long-term technical cooperation. At the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa this month, Ethiopia outlined an ambitious national development vision anchored in technology, youth, and regional cooperation, projecting GDP growth of 10.2% by the end of 2026. Under its Digital Ethiopia 2030 plan, the country is building out digital public infrastructure, including national ID systems integrated with payments, and has established Africa’s first AI Institute with plans for a dedicated AI university. A new analysis in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs argues Africa offers a blueprint for how Global South countries can navigate U.S.-China AI competition without becoming dependent on either power. While the U.S. relies primarily on private sector actors like Google, IBM, and Nvidia to expand its AI footprint, China deploys a top-down state strategy through vehicles like the Belt and Road Initiative, with 52 African countries now signed onto digital infrastructure agreements. African frontrunners, including Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and Mauritius, have responded with deliberate “mix and match” strategies, drawing on U.S. startup ecosystems and research partnerships while leveraging Chinese infrastructure investment. Authors Alice Chen and Neel U. Sukhatme warn, however, that the same competitive dynamics enabling this hedging also expose the region to labor exploitation, data colonialism, and the potential spread of digital authoritarianism. Nigeria is targeting 95% of adult financial inclusion under its National Financial Inclusion Strategy, but analysts warn that expanding mobile coverage alone will not bring millions into the formal economy if trust remains lacking – citizens must believe telecoms companies will not misuse or exploit their personal data, Royal Ibeh writes for BusinessDay. Google has launched a new speech dataset covering 21 African languages, with the data owned by the African partners who collected it rather than by Google. This is a deliberate move toward digital sovereignty in a field long dominated by foreign tech giants, with Program Manager at Google Research Abdoulaye Diack stating, “success lies in the local ownership of this innovation cycle.” Asia New Delhi is hosting the fourth global AI Impact Summit this week, with Prime Minister Modi presiding over a five-day gathering expected to draw 250k visitors, 20 heads of state, and global tech leaders. The summit comes amid mounting concerns over deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation, and India has recently tightened rules requiring social media platforms to label synthetic content. However, skeptics question whether the event will produce meaningful accountability, with Amba Kak of the AI Now Institute warning industry commitments from previous summits “have largely been narrow self-regulatory frameworks that position AI companies to continue to grade their own homework,” Dmytro Hubenko and Mahima Kapoor report for DW. A new RAND report shows Chinese large language models are significantly cheaper and have largely closed the language gap with U.S. rivals. The nation is also leading on AI diplomacy, engaging more countries earlier and more frequently than the U.S., revealed with other findings on global use patterns of these AI tools across 100+ nations. A U.K. high court has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay over 3 million GBP in damages to London-based dissident Ghanem al-Masarir, ruling the nation responsible for the hacking of his phones with Pegasus spyware and a physical attack in 2018. The case, brought with analysis from digital rights lab Citizen Lab, marks a rare moment of legal accountability for state-sponsored spyware use. Nearly a year after Bhutan became the first country to launch a nationwide crypto payment network for tourists, merchants report that almost nobody is actually using it. Over 1k businesses signed up to accept more than 100 cryptocurrencies via Binance, but many tourists are unaware the option exists. Experts point to structural barriers, including illiteracy rates and frequent power outages, and note the initiative appears driven more by Bhutan’s own substantial bitcoin mining reserves than by genuine consumer demand. Taiwan has become the seventh trading partner to sign a Reciprocal Trade Agreement with the Trump administration, committing to at least 250 billion USD in U.S. semiconductor investment and large purchases of American energy and industrial goods in exchange for a reduced 15% tariff rate. The deal is unlikely to resolve the deeper tensions underneath, however, David Sacks writes for Council on Foreign Relations. China-based tech powerhouse ByteDance is pouring billions into AI to grow beyond TikTok, with its Doubao chatbot passing 100 million daily users. The move comes as regulatory pressure in the U.S. and Europe makes reliance on social media riskier, with heavy spending on chips from Nvidia and top talent showing the company is betting AI will become its next core platform. Europe One year on from the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, a new European Parliament report shows 92% of Western data is stored on U.S. infrastructure, American providers control 69% of Europe’s cloud market, and the EU attracts only 7% of global AI investment compared to 40% for the U.S. and 32% for China. Frank Karlitschek, founder of German open-source platform Nextcloud, framed the stakes bluntly: “this would never be acceptable if it happened in food, cars, or any other strategic industry.” Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has opened a major probe into X over its Grok chatbotgenerating sexualized deepfake images, including alleged cases involving minors. The investigation will assess possible breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation, focusing on whether Europeans’ personal data was unlawfully processed, a move adding to widening global pressure on Grok and broader EU-U.S. tensions over the regulation of American tech firms. Five European startups reached unicorn status in January, showing investor confidence in the region’s tech sector. Strong backing from major financers and growth in AI, security, and compliance suggest the region’s startup ecosystem is maturing despite global uncertainty. Aiman Ezzat, CEO of information and technology services company Capgemini, called full European tech independence unrealistic. He urged a pragmatic approach of balancing sovereignty with partnerships, especially since Europe still relies on U.S. cloud and infrastructure, highlighting Europe’s ongoing struggle between strategic autonomy and staying competitive in the global AI race, Leo Marchandon writes for Reuters. A recent OECD report says AI uptake in Europe is growing but still uneven across agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and mobility, with barriers like fragmented data, weak infrastructure, skills gaps, and regulatory complexity slowing large-scale deployment. The report urges more investment in data, computing, skills, and coordinated policy to boost adoption and keep the region competitive. Italy is cooperating with South Korea to deepen cooperation in AI, space, and defense, a deal reflecting growing strategic and technological ties between the two nations. The U.K. government has selected Barnsley as the country’s first “tech town,” partnering with major U.S. tech firms to roll out AI across schools, healthcare, businesses, and public services, though some residents and critics remain cautious about costs, corporate influence, and the broader social impact of these emerging tools, Robert Booth writes for The Guardian. The U.K. will force tech platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hoursor face fines of up to 10% of global revenue and possible service blocks, and national regulator Ofcom may classify this content alongside terrorism and child abuse material, with new enforcement rules expected later this year. Latin America Brazil is increasingly attracting AI data centres through tax incentives and less strict rules, but critics warn this “techno-solutionist” push ignores major environmental and sovereignty risks,such as huge energy and water use, pollution, weak oversight, and foreign control over national data. Cynthia Picolo, the executive director of Laboratório de Políticas Públicas e Internet, talks about the impacts of AI and data centers in the country, lagging regulation, inadequate environmental licensing, and lack of engagement with local communities with Tainá Andrade at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute. Movistar Argentina expects its satellite internet business with Starlink to grow around 40% by 2026, mainly driven by rising demand from remote oil and gas operations that need reliable high-speed connectivity and real-time monitoring. Satellite links are helping companies run remote wells, track workers, and manage safety risks, while also serving as backup when terrestrial networks fail. Mexico is emerging as a serious global tech and AI hub, driven by strong engineering talent, nearshoring advantages with North America, and growing ability to build complex cloud, data, and machine learning systems for global markets. To sustain growth, the country will need more advanced AI, data, and systems expertise, continued investment in education and infrastructure, and global talent networks, Jorge Mandujano writes for Mexico Business News. Chile is advancing innovation in mining through state-backed projects testing direct lithium extraction and recovering rare earths from mining waste, aiming to strengthen tech capability and meet rising global demand. The country is seeing growing technical talent and collaboration between industry, universities, and the government, but future progress depends on sustained funding and continued public-private cooperation. Chile and 15 regional partners have launched Latam GPT, the first large language model originating in Latin America, designed to boost tech sovereignty and reduce dependence on U.S. and Chinese artificial intelligence systems. The open access model is trained in Spanish and Portuguese, and will also support Indigenous languages, aiming to build regional scientific capacity, improve public services, and strengthen the region’s position in the global AI landscape. Oceania Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape announced plans to embed AI into government systems at the World Governments Summit in Dubai earlier this month, framing the move as a way to improve transparency and reduce bias in public service delivery. Australia’s online safety chief Julie Inman Grant said social media companies reluctantly complied with the country’s recent ban on under-16s, warning platforms fear global copycat laws. Regulators say enforcement is ongoing, imposing fines up to 49.5 million AUD for failures to comply, navigating concerns about loopholes such as age-check evasion, and continuing monitoring of risks like exposure to violent content, privacy debates, and legal challenges from tech companies. The biggest 2026 risk to investors in New Zealand is not AI hype, but a potential inflation spiral tied to massive U.S. debt, which could force higher interest rates, shake markets, and curb government tech and AI spending, writes Michael McCarthy for ITBrief New Zealand, urging investors to watch inflation, central bank moves, and U.S. midterm politics to stay ahead. Journalists in the Pacific Islands are facing rising technology-facilitated threats like online death threats, doxing, harassment, and abuse, which have intensified since the pandemic and are increasingly amplified by AI, misinformation, and community pressures. Many reporters lack training to assess or manage these risks, leading to psychological effects, self-censorship, and weakened reporting capabilities, with women and minority journalists especially targeted. Researchers and regional groups are now pushing trauma-informed training and better newsroom support, warning threats are likely to grow and require journalist-centred, context-specific responses opposed to generic online safety measures, Amantha Perera reports for Devpolicy. Solomon Islands is launching a national program with partners like the World Health Organization and Australia to expand assistive technology for children with disabilities, aiming to train health workers and teachers and provide glasses, hearing aids, and mobility devices to students so they can fully participate in school. Access to assistive technology is still limited, especially in rural areas, but officials say it is a high return investment that improves education, inclusion, and long-term economic growth. |
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