Al Jazeera and Caixin Global report that 29 countries signed an agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, an intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai, on the eve of this year's World AI Conference. UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended the signing. The stated aim is international cooperation and global governance of AI, with a framing oriented toward development and the Global South. The membership list is the story: Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Serbia and a range of African and Asian states signed, while the United States, UK, Germany, France, Japan and Australia did not. Analysts quoted in the coverage note the organization's actual authority is untested. What to watch is whether WAICO produces binding standards or stays a diplomatic signal.