Kenya is among eight countries approved to join the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), in a move that could expand the membership of the global digital cooperation body from 16 to 24 countries.
The DCO Council approved the candidature of Kenya and seven other countries during a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on August 28, 2026.
The other countries approved as candidates are Albania, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Zambia.
Digital Cooperation Organization Approves Kenya, 7 Other Countries for Membership
DCO Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya said countries were seeking greater involvement in decisions affecting emerging areas of the digital economy, including data, artificial intelligence and cross-border trade.
“Countries are joining for a practical reason; the rules of the digital economy on data, artificial intelligence, and cross-border trade are being written now, and rules written without you are rules you inherit rather than shape,” she said.
“The next stage is scale. Five years of policy, platforms and partnerships could soon have twenty-four countries behind them, and that is what turns alignment into infrastructure, investment, and rules that hold and shape our collective future.”
If the accession process is completed, the expanded organization will represent about 980 million people, equivalent to approximately 12 percent of the global population.
The DCO said the approval marks the beginning of the formal accession process for the eight countries.
Their membership will take effect after each country completes its internal national procedures and deposits its instrument of accession in accordance with the organization’s founding documents.
The expansion will also increase the organization’s geographical reach, with Kazakhstan becoming part of its growing presence in Central Asia.
Meanwhile, Albania and Azerbaijan will extend DCO footprint into the Western Balkans and Caucasus.
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Deemah AlYahya said the expansion demonstrates growing interest in international cooperation on digital economy policies.
“When the DCO was launched by five countries in 2020, a standalone organization built around the digital economy outside the traditional blocs, it was an untested proposition. The news today of our expansion makes it a proven fact,” AlYahya said.
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About the Digital Cooperation Organization
The Digital Cooperation Organization was established in 2020 and currently has 16 member states.
DCO brings together the Ministries of Communications and Information Technology of its current Member States, representing nearly USD 3.5 trillion in GDP and a combined market of over 800 million people, more than 70% of whom are under the age of 35.
Its founding members are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Pakistan, while Oman and Nigeria joined in April 2021.
DCO work focuses on digital policy, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence governance, digital skills, startup ecosystems, cross-border data flows and measuring the digital economy.
The organization said the proposed expansion would strengthen cooperation between governments, businesses, international organizations, academia and civil society.
Tajikistan is also set to join the DCO as an Associate Member. The organization said this would give the country opportunities to participate in digital cooperation initiatives, public-private partnerships, digital innovation, skills development and inclusion.
The eight candidate countries will now proceed with their respective national accession requirements before their membership can formally take effect.
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