Sudan Establishes Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority Amid Digital Overhaul

Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris signed a decree on November 5, 2025 establishing three new national agencies under the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Communications: a Digital Transformation Authority, a Sudanese Cybersecurity Authority, and a Sudanese Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority.

The decree marks Sudan's first dedicated institutional structure for AI governance, aiming to create a regulatory framework for public digital services, data management, and cybersecurity as the government works to modernize state institutions amid an exceptionally difficult operating environment. The reforms are framed by officials as part of a broader effort to improve transparency, administrative governance, and what the government describes as digital sovereignty.

The initiative unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing conflict and limited financial resources, with Sudan continuing to face significant infrastructure gaps and a shortage of skilled digital professionals — constraints that will likely shape how quickly the newly created authorities can move from decree to functioning institutions. Unlike similar AI governance bodies established in more stable African markets, Sudan's new authority will need to build capacity in a country where basic service delivery remains disrupted in large parts of the territory.

Idris, an intellectual property law expert who was appointed prime minister after a career that included leading the World Intellectual Property Organization, has positioned digital governance reform as part of a broader institutional modernization agenda since taking office. The creation of a dedicated data and AI authority — distinct from the cybersecurity and broader digital transformation bodies — shows an intent to treat AI governance as a distinct policy domain rather than folding it into general IT or telecommunications regulation.

No implementation timeline has been publicly detailed for when the Sudanese Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority will become operational, but the decree itself represents a concrete institutional commitment from a government operating under significant constraints.