Result of Service• The report prepared should be in French and in electronic format. • The report submitted should not be less than 30 pages. • A 2 to 4 pages executive summary of the report. The completed parts should be edited and saved in MS-Word (*.docx file) or an alternate compatible format. Note that PDF format will not be accepted. It should include a table of contents to be automatically updated followed by a list of all tables and figures. The various parts should be submitted in electronic form and sent to the email of the designated focal point. Attention is kindly drawn to the need to ensure that the final draft of the outputs be thoroughly reviewed prior to submission and to indicate the sources of tables and diagrams. References to reports and other substantive material should be clearly indicated within the text and noted at the end. It is also essential to send, with the completed output, photocopies or scans of at least the first page of books, reports and bulletins, used as reference material as well as copies of the pages quoted. The content of the generated document shall be the sole property of ESCWA. Their contents cannot and must not be presented, discussed or published without the express authorization of ESCWA. The consultant shall keep in mind that UN-ESCWA routinely checks all deliverables for plagiarism using readily available electronic tools. All previously published content, even if written by the selected consultant, must be clearly referenced where required within the text and end-noted at the end of the study. The report submitted by the consultant must not contain quoted, previously published text equalling more than 20 per cent of the total number of pages. The consultant shall not publish or announce or reveal the content of the report, partly or entirely, on social media or any other public channel, without ESCWA and MDENI permission. The content of the generated document shall be the sole property of ESCWA. Work LocationRemote Expected duration16 weeks Duties and ResponsibilitiesBackground: Artificial intelligence (AI) has a great role in promoting a comprehensive social and economic development of various sectors and in accelerating the achievement of SDGs. AI could help public agencies to provide better services with reduced costs, in low- and middle-income countries , create new job opportunities in the labour market, and create an appropriate opportunity for innovation and entrepreneurship. By 2030, the expected impact of AI on the economy would range from 5.6% (low-income countries) to 26.1% (China) of GDP . In the world, many countries have developed their own AI Strategies. In France, for example, a budget of 1.5 B Euros is dedicated to transform France into a global leader in AI research, training, and industry. Four components are mentioned in the strategy (2018). The first component is related to initiatives aiming to strengthen France’s AI ecosystem and attract the international talent. Second, France will develop an open data policy to drive the adoption and application of AI in selected sectors. Third, the government will create a regulatory and financial framework to support the development of domestic “AI champions”. Finally, the government will develop regulations for ethics to ensure that the use and development of AI is transparent, explainable, and non-discriminatory. The plan is expected to cover four sectors (healthcare, transportation, environment, and defence). India has taken a unique approach to its national AI strategy by joining the economic growth, to social inclusion. This approach is called #AIforAll. The plan aims to (1) enhance and empower Indians with the skills to find quality jobs; (2) invest in research and sectors that can maximize economic growth and social impact; and (3) scale Indian-made AI solutions to the rest of the developing world. Most Arab countries are interested in harnessing new technologies in general, and Artificial Intelligence in particular, to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Few Arab countries have developed their AI strategies to spell out the needed objectives, identify the role of main national stakeholders and specify the principal focus areas. In UAE, as an example, the aim of the strategy, launched in 2017, was to use AI to enhance government performance and efficiency. The UAE government will invest in AI technologies in nine sectors: transport, health, space, renewable energy, water, technology, education, environment, and traffic. In doing so, the government aims to cut costs across the government operations, diversify the economy, and position the UAE as a global leader in the application of AI . In Egypt they launched their National AI strategy in 2019, which is a key priority for helping achieve Egypt’s sustainable development goals, create an AI Industry in Egypt, including the development of skills, technology, ecosystem, infrastructure and governance mechanisms to ensure its sustainability and competitiveness. The United Nations is involved in enhancing the use of emerging technologies for sustainable development. In September 2024 during the Summit of the Future, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future and its annexes: the Global Digital Compact (GDC) and Declaration on Future Generations. Among its objectives , GDC aims to enhance the international governance of AI for the benefit of humanity. UN-ESCWA, through its technical cooperation program, is committed to provide technical assistance to its member states to boost national efforts towards the achievement of the 2030 Development Agenda. This technical cooperation directly supports the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) 2022–2031, particularly Article 99, which calls for enhanced international support to harness science, technology, and innovation for sustainable development. In this context, ESCWA plays a pivotal role by providing tailored policy advice, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing to LDCs in the Arab region. Through its expertise and regional mandate, ESCWA helps ensure that emerging technologies like AI are leveraged in a practical, inclusive, and ethical manner—aligned with national development priorities and aimed at driving transformative progress across key sectors such as education, health, and public administration. It is within this context that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Innovation (MDENI) has requested technical support from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to develop a National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. The objective of this strategy is to: • Create a framework conducive to the responsible and sustainable adoption of AI technologies in the public sector and priority economic sectors; • Stimulate local innovation and national expertise in this rapidly expanding field; • Define a national roadmap, aligned with the country's priorities, international best practices, and digital transformation commitments. The strategy will prioritize harnessing AI to accelerate national development goals, focusing on practical applications that drive economic diversification, enhance public service delivery, and support sustainable development. It will ensure that AI deployment aligns with national priorities by addressing local needs, fostering innovation, and building digital sovereignty. At the same time, the strategy will embed AI development within a robust ethical and inclusive framework—ensuring transparency, security, and equality—so that the benefits of AI are equitably shared across society and contribute to long-term, inclusive growth. This mission, the subject of these terms of reference, is part of this co-construction process. It aims to mobilize a national consultant to support the MDENI team and ESCWA experts in the development of this national strategy, ensuring the local anchoring of the work, coordination with national stakeholders, facilitation of the work and contextualization of strategic recommendations. Duties and Responsibilities: The consultant will propose a detailed version of Djibouti's national AI strategy to the designated ESCWA focal point. To develop this draft, the consultant will be required to perform the following tasks: 1. Propose an action plan and methodology to be validated by the MDENI and ESCWA; 2. Conduct a thorough analysis of all existing strategic documents, including national digital documents and national policies on digital transformation, innovation, digital technologies, and other related national development plans; 3. Analyze regional and international best practices in AI strategies and policies (at least two regional case studies and two international case studies); 4. Identify key national stakeholders, plan and organize, in coordination with the MDENI, interviews and meetings with them, and summarize each meeting/interview, emphasizing the points discussed, as well as the entities' comments, observations, and proposals; 5. Actively contribute to facilitating sectoral workshops to discuss needs and priorities, if necessary; 6. Develop the necessary AI strategy based on international and regional best practices, gap analysis, national needs, consultation findings, and the ESCWA guide. 7. Produce presentation and summary documents, if needed. In addition, the consultant will carry out the following activities: (1) Contribute to facilitating the national workshop (in person) and gather key comments and discussions. (2) Update the draft proposal, considering all feedback and comments received during the review process by the ESCWA and MDENI teams. ESCWA promotes gender equality and youth inclusion through its publications. Therefore, the consultant, with the assistance of ESCWA staff, will need to pay attention to gender and youth considerations throughout the research work to ensure that the report pays equal attention to the needs of men and women, as well as girls and boys. The language used should be gender sensitive. Qualifications/special skillsA masters degree in ICT, technology, engineering, computer science, or a related field is required. A PhD is a desirable. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. At least 5 years of experience developing national strategies, public reports, or public policies in the field of digital technologies is required. Prior experience in management and planning is required. Familiarity with the Djiboutian context is required. Prior experience in developing a national AI strategy is desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA. For this position, fluency in French is required and knowledge in Arabic desirable. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.