Amman, Sept. 16 (Petra) – NUJUM16 hosted its inaugural private forum,
“Architecting Jordan’s AI Infrastructure,” on Wednesday to map out
Jordan’s sovereign AI ecosystem.

The forum enforced NUJUM16’s vision to anchor Jordan’s AI future by
pairing infrastructure development with ecosystem growth.

The event featured global and Jordanian experts examining the core
layers needed to build a sovereign AI ecosystem.

Following opening remarks from Ahmad Bunnia, Founder of NUJUM16, and
institutional remarks from Mehdi Paryavi, Chair and CEO of the
International Data Center Authority (IDCA), the forum examined the
development of AI through infrastructure, national capability,
talent, education, organizational readiness and economics.

By uniting compute infrastructure, talent, policy, and investment,
the company seeks to shift the focus from raw processing power to
full ecosystem development. This foundation allows Jordanian
institutions, startups, and researchers to transform AI
infrastructure into scalable economic value.

A panel of leaders from technology, banking, and the Ministry of
Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship explored what a distinct
Jordanian AI model requires to transition from concept to reality.

Pivoting from infrastructure to application, the Education and
Ecosystem Building panel explored how to turn computing power into
productivity, investment, and long-term economic value.

International voices including Anneloes Smitsman, Founder of
EARTHwise; Ben Goertzel, Founder, CEO and Chief Scientist of
SingularityNET; Dion Wiggins, Co-Founder and CTO of Omniscien
Technologies; and Viktor Mirovic contributed perspectives spanning
advanced intelligence, digital sovereignty, governance,
organisational readiness and AI capability.

Delving into the practical realities of digital control, sessions
debated data ownership, localized model hosting, and how institutions
can scale AI on their own terms.

The afternoon program marked a transition from dialogue to tangible
collaboration.

Sinan Kamal delivered the ministerial address on behalf of Sami
Smeirat, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, addressing
the national vision guiding Jordan’s AI ambition.

Three strategic memoranda of understanding were signed during the
forum, targeting core layers of the regional AI ecosystem.

The first agreement between NUJUM16 and Al Hussein Technical
University (HTU), connecting advanced computing infrastructure with
applied education and national talent. The partnership will support
access to AI computing capacity, technical expertise, specialised
training, applied research, industry-led challenges, innovation and
pathways into employment and entrepreneurship.

The second partnership, between NUJUM16, MDCS.AI and Lorentz Centers,
establishes a framework for a sovereign, application-driven AI
ecosystem in the Kingdom.

It connects infrastructure, secure high-performance AI architecture,
specialist expertise, industry partners and application-focused
programs, enabling government institutions, companies, researchers
and entrepreneurs to access infrastructure and transform Jordanian
data and ideas into deployable AI solutions.

The third partnership between NUJUM16, Samara and EARTHwise connects
sovereign AI infrastructure with human-aligned AI, governance and
institutional readiness, exploring programs that bring together
compute, policy, talent and human capability in Jordan and the wider
region.

The forum catalyzed a long-term alliance between government,
industry, and academia to ensure Jordan’s AI infrastructure yields
broad-based societal and economic value.

//Petra// HA