Nepal to Establish National AI Center and Make AI Education Mandatory – Minister Gurung at Shanghai AI Conference

Kathmandu: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, participated in the Shanghai World Artificial Intelligence (AI) Conference 2025 on July 26. Addressing the conference, he announced that Nepal will establish a National AI Center for international cooperation, launch AI centers of excellence in leading universities, and set up innovation hubs in all provinces.

Minister Gurung emphasized that AI and digital literacy will be made mandatory from school to university level, with the goal of preparing Nepali youth for the AI-driven future.

“For us, AI is not a luxury but a tool for equality, transformation, and justice—from telemedicine in remote areas to real-time citizen services,” he said. Nepal’s approach, he added, focuses on leveraging AI for public good, particularly in governance, public services, agriculture, education, health, and disaster response.

He called for greater international cooperation to ensure that developing countries can access computing power, open models, and data sets. “Developing nations should also benefit from AI achievements made by powerful countries,” he stated.

In a high-level session on global AI governance, Minister Gurung expressed Nepal’s support for a UN-led charter promoting transparency, inclusiveness, accountability, and the demilitarization of AI.

“Nepal is building data infrastructure, AI skills, and partnerships to overcome traditional development barriers and ensure that AI technologies serve all citizens equally,” he concluded.