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President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday said that the Government is committed to build a digitalised modern Sri Lanka.
He said that it was a duty of the Government to accelerate the digitalisation by digitalising the Government sector and a Committee of Cabinet Ministers would be set up to ensure that the Government sector utilisation is done rapidly.
He made this observation while addressing at the launching ceremony of the DIGIECON 2030, a digital economy 2030 master plan and a regulatory policy framework towards transforming the country into an inclusive digital economy. This event organised by the Ministry of Technology was held at the Temple Trees.
The keynote address was delivered by World Bank Regional Cluster Lead for South Asia for Digital Development Siddartha Raja on ‘Leveraging Digital Economy towards a Sustainable and Resilient Sri Lanka’.
The DIGIECON Sri Lanka 2023-2030 website was launched by President Wickremesinghe on this occasion and ICT associations extended their support.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe
President’s Media said the launch of DIGIECON 2030 which is a concept of President Wickremesinghe is a crucial step in Sri Lanka’s transformation towards an inclusive digital economy.
DIGIECON 2030 will also facilitate scale ups for over 50 of the most innovative start-ups, SMEs and technological developments in Sri Lanka, across a diverse range of industries with a platform to access global investors and markets.
Speaking further, President Wickremesinghe said that Rs. 100 million is set aside for universities and private sector institutions for this year to commence the development of a digital policy and another Rs. 1 billion next year for the research in the IT sector and Artificial Intelligence to develop the digital economy.
“As far as the digital economy is concerned, we have now to develop our digital policy, which we haven’t done so. So there are many ideas here, many proposals, and we have to do this together with the industry. Government spending cannot drive the digital economy. The digital economy has to be driven by the private sector. What we can do is to promote. We should not stand in the way. That’s going to be our policy, our digital policy, and within it, Artificial Intelligence (AI) oriented policy also of implementation,” the President said.
He also said that it was the duty of the Government to accelerate the digitalisation by digitalising the Government sector. “What we plan to do in this Government is to appoint a Cabinet Committee of ministers to ensure that the Government sector utilisation is done fast and quickly. That move will help you to bring digital policy forward and accelerate it. We cannot wait too long. We should also coordinate and work together with our neighbouring countries,” the President said.
The focus on the development of required infrastructure was also stressed by Wickremesinghe. He said that the onus is on the private sector as the Government was not in a position to do so.
“We will promote the provision of infrastructure by the private sector. This is one of the reasons that have led the Government to privatise Sri Lanka Telecom. We just haven’t the money to put into it.
“We need foreign investment and let it come through the SLT and the other institutions that are involved. In this way we are laying the groundwork for the Government policy on digitalisation. It is necessary. It will be one of the key sectors of the new economy,” the President added.
State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath delivering the welcome speech said the launch of DIGIECON 2030 marks a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s journey towards becoming an inclusive digital economy. “The Government aims to leap into Industry accelerating our economy through sustainable tradable goods and services, supported by advanced technology,” he said.
The State Minister also said that through DIGIECON 2030, the Government will build a conducive business environment for investments whilst giving direction, and commitment of the Government towards facilitating a digital ecosystem to all the stakeholders.
The Government will take the lead in giving shelter to a series of events, which will explore partnerships that will lead to digital transformation using cutting-edge technology and leverage human-centric technology to improve productivity and efficiency to match and link with global value chains.
