Joining more than 200 parliamentarians from 65 countries in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Deputy Clerk of Tonga’s Legislative Assembly Dr. Sione Vikilani attended a 3 days Parliamentary conference on 28-30 November, to address the urgent need for responsible global governance of rapidly accelerating developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The event encouraged participants to build capacity, exchange practical knowledge and commit to concrete steps for advancing responsible AI governance.
The Legislative Assembly reported that “it urges parliaments to lead in developing ethical, safe, transparent and human-rights-based AI governance aligned with emerging global norms.”
The conference included plenary presentations, panel discussions, workshops, collaborative problem-solving sessions and an “unconference” in which participants proposed and debated emerging themes.
Representatives of Tonga and other small island states met with ICT experts from the IPU and CPA, among them Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu, Palau, the Cook Islands, to share experiences and discuss the challenges these nations face in adopting and regulating AI.
“The three-day programme was built around the examined policy, legislative and oversight dimensions of AI, including its societal impacts and national and regional governance approaches. Participants also considered how parliaments themselves can integrate AI to support research and analysis, improve administrative efficiency, foster transparency and expand avenues for citizen participation,” the office of the Legislative Assembly stated.
The meeting called on international partners to support these efforts and requested all parliaments to provide progress updates by June 2026, with a consolidated status report to be published in August 2026.
Dr. Vikilani was accompanied by ICT officer Matealona Halaholo.
The conference was jointly organized by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in close cooperation with the Parliament of Malaysia.
