Algeria Charts Sovereign AI Roadmap Around Open-Source Government Models

Algeria's government held an inter-ministerial meeting on August 5, 2026, chaired by Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Kamel Baddari, to chart a national AI roadmap centred on sovereign, open-source government AI models.

The meeting brought together representatives from ministries responsible for digital economy, higher education, and public administration to coordinate a roadmap explicitly built around technological sovereignty — favouring open-source AI models under government control over reliance on foreign proprietary systems for public-sector use cases.

### Sovereignty as a defining policy theme

Algeria's approach stands out among North African AI strategies for its explicit emphasis on open-source, government-controlled models rather than partnerships with foreign commercial AI providers. Officials framed the roadmap as necessary for data security and long-term technological independence, particularly for applications touching public administration and critical infrastructure.

The roadmap meeting followed the graduation of the first cohort of 105 students from Algeria's National Higher School of Artificial Intelligence in June 2026, part of a stated national target to train 30,000 AI engineers by 2030 — making workforce development a parallel pillar alongside the sovereignty-focused technical roadmap.