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Immense potential of DPI for Sri Lanka explored (Pics)
The High Commission of India, in partnership with the Ministry of Technology, Government of Sri Lanka organised a conference on Digital Public Infrastructure yesterday (March 26) in Colombo.
The conference, through its three sessions and breakout meetings explored the transformative potential of DPI for enabling service delivery, empowering communities by fostering inclusivity and enriching the economy by driving innovation.
The three sessions included an Opening Plenary with the keynote address delivered by President of Sri Lanka – Ranil Wickremesinghe, wherein he applauded the conference for being timely. President Wickremesinghe underlined DPI as a vital enabler for the digitisation of the Sri Lankan economy. He emphasised the need for collaboration with India in this domain, highlighting the potential of fast-tracking growth by adapting India’s successful strategies domestically.
India’s digital transformation and the significance of DPI and India Stack was elaborated upon by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka – Santosh Jha, in his welcome remarks and by Dr. Pramod Varma, Co-Chair, Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure (CDPI) in his presentation during the Opening Plenary.
The other two sessions saw discussions amongst experts from India, Sri Lanka and the region, on the themes of Accelerating Digital Sri Lanka and Unlocking the Digital Stack respectively. The former focused on the roadmap for adoption of DPI in Sri Lanka and the resultant acceleration towards e-governance across the board, with the opening remarks by Hon. Kanaka Herath, State Minister of Technology. The latter went beyond foundational DPI to discuss use cases marrying technology, markets and governance with a special focus on the positive externalities in the startups domain. This session was opened by MP Dr. Harsha de Silva.
The conference was particularly enriched with several breakout meetings between visiting experts from India and their Sri Lankan counterparts as well as other stakeholders. A key highlight of these was an interaction of the visiting senior officials from Government of India’s Ministries handling Digital India and Startup India programmes with Senior Officials who are leading the six Working Groups of Government of Sri Lanka on Digital Economy.
Futuristic linkages were also initiated in the startup and IT industries domain on the sidelines of the conference. In the afternoon of 26 March, Startup India’s team held a capacity building workshop for startups in Sri Lanka, including sessions by Indian experts on the art of pitching and effective marketing. The Chief of IIT Chennai’s Incubator ‘Parvartak’ interacted with key startup incubators in Sri Lanka. Chairman NASSCOM called on the President of Sri Lanka yesterday.
The conference is another step in the series of initiatives being undertaken to implement the Vision Document adopted by Prime Minister of India and President of Sri Lanka during the latter’s visit to India in July 2023 to promote connectivity, including in the digital domain. India’s ongoing grant assistance for establishing the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) Project is a key building block for the digital transformation of Sri Lanka aided by DPI. The various engagements today emphasised the immense potential to leverage India’s DPI in accordance with Sri Lanka’s requirements and priorities towards effective and efficient delivery of citizen-centric services to the people of Sri Lanka.
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Uma Oya project launched (Video / Pics)
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Dr. Ebrahim Raisi and Sri Lankan President – Ranil Wickremesinghe have jointly inaugurated the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP) a short while ago.
This project is one of the largest irrigation projects in Sri Lanka following the Mahaweli Development Project.
Speaking at the event, Iran’s President Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi emphasized Iran’s technical prowess and engineering expertise and highlighted that Iranian experts are currently involved in significant electricity and water projects across more than 20 countries.
“Today the Islamic Republic Of Iran, enjoys great technical and engineering skills and expertise, and in more than 20 countries, our experts are running great and big electricity and water projects,” he said.
He further noted that Iran stands ready to share its knowledge, expertise and experience with Sri Lanka for the progress and development of the country, including partnerships in large-scale projects.
Following the inauguration of the Uma Oya multipurpose development project, President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed gratitude to Iran for their technical support, emphasizing that without Iran’s assistance, Sri Lanka couldn’t have diverted the Uma Oya tributaries into Kirindi Oya. He highlighted the south’s desire to establish its identity & independence, suggesting that southern countries should now strive for their own strength and autonomy
(Video / Pics – PMD)
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Iranian President arrives in SL (Pics)
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Ebrahim Raisi & his delegation arrived at the Mattala Airport a short while ago (April 24).
The Iranian President was warmly welcomed by PM Dinesh Gunawardane upon his arrival.
During his one-day official visit, President Raisi will inaugurate the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project.
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Visiting CPC delegation meets with NPP leader (Pics)
National People’s Power Leader – Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (April 23) met the visiting delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The Chinese delegation consisted of Sun Haiyan, Deputy Minister of the Department of International Affairs of the Communist Party of China and member of the Central Committee of the Party, Lin Tao, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Chen Xiangyuan, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, Li Jinyan, Director of the Department of the International Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Jin Yan, Deputy Director, Wen Jun, Secretary to the Deputy Minister, Jin Enze, the Third Secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, and Zhang Guyu, the translator.
The NPP was represented by Vijitha Herath, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando, and Sunil Handunneththi.
The meeting, held at the party headquarters, focused on the current political situation, upcoming elections and possible political developments were discussed between the two sides.
The leaders of the NPP had pointed out the importance of creating political stability in the country to get the country out of the crisis.
The visiting delegation had been focused on the measures and organizational structures adopted by the NPP in the political field and their gaining popularity among the public.
The NPP leaders also had emphasized their relations with various people, groups, social strata and Sri Lankans abroad, as well as their policies in building the country, and the dialogue between the party structures and the public.
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