UNCTAD 15 Forum on South-South Sharing of Policy Experiences for Digital Transformation.

Ayubowan!

It gives me great pleasure to be amongst you today at this forum focused on the apt theme of Sharing of Policy Experiences for Digital Transformation at a juncture where Sri Lanka itself is actively engaging and setting in motion our own national digital transformation strategy.
I firmly believe that a well-articulated digital transformation would be key to addressing the global phenomena of digital divide which has been highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic and we indeed would have to have sustainable and focused measures in place in addressing same. In this light we have set in motion a well-articulated strategy focusing on key pillars of digital transformation that would enable us to realize a truly digitally inclusive Sri Lanka.
With the key components that make up the concept of Digital Inclusivity being Digital skills, connectivity and accessibility, Sri Lanka has already commenced the “Gamata Sannivedanaya” or Connectivity to the Village — national program through the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission aligned with the International Telecommunication Union’s Connect 2030 agenda in ensuring connectivity and infrastructure enablement for rural areas which continue to provide accessibility to non-served and underserved areas which is progressing rapidly. With the project the government has affirmed its intent by recognizing the project on a national scale. Through the 2021 budget and the project the government is investing on the rural connectivity infrastructure as part of the universal service obligation concept.
Today the Gamata Sannivedanaya project continues to expand rapidly, already expansion plans have been initiated with an ambitious target of initiating expansion projects in 10 districts by the end of the year and many areas have already been introduced 4G connectivity in these districts and continue to be covered as and when the infrastructure comes alive. Furthermore, in addition to the infrastructure enablement on island wide broad band coverage, the TRC in tandem with the telecommunications industry has made all access free of any data charge to the official e-learning platform “E-Thaksalawa” of all government schools as well as the LEARN e-learning platform of the state universities which has been implemented since April 2020. I believe that this is a significant milestone we have achieved in terms of extending the concept of free education to digitally driven online distance education methodology as we all a step in contributing to reducing the digital divide, in this situation I believe we have been compelled to embrace online education due to the pandemic.
In terms of affordability of broadband, we continue to make policy decisions that would enable more and more affordable services, and in fact as per the latest ITU global benchmark report, Sri Lanka has made it to the top 20 countries for most affordable internet rates and to the top 10 in terms of voice services. This signifies a positive indicator to the effectiveness of our policies, and we intend to continue to improve on these indices.
Improving digital literacy skills is yet another key aspect we are prioritizing on, and we are focusing on driving across multiple nationwide programs across all districts out of which some are in fact driven by ICTA to ensure we have a well-orchestrated strategy in scaling up the digital literacy skills that would enable a meaningful inclusion of all audiences in gaining the best of the digital transformation drive we are rolling out.
We need to continue to educate and advocate to the public on the importance of Digital transformation and benefits of Digital Education specially during the pandemic. For example, digital education in Sri Lanka even though at the early stage is growing at a rapid rate, due to the pandemic the school system has had to embrace online education which they were reluctant to do before and now it is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country based on the initiatives we have taken as I explained before.
Furthermore, in terms of infrastructure enablement we continue to take pragmatic policy and strategic decisions and to note a few, the envisioned plan of setting up an eco system of technology parks which is currently being initiated as we speak, and the introduction of our very own data center networks driven by the telecommunication industry is poised to place Sri Lanka as a regional technology and innovation hub.
In terms of creating a digitally enabled citizen centric government, the digital government initiatives are another priority focus for us, we continue to focus on ensuring the roll out of rapid implementations specifically focused on digitally enabling citizen services and projects such as the digitalization of the local government bodies, grama niladari networks and automation of government sector entities including the roll out of digital signatures and e-payments are now in progress as part of a well-defined digital roadmap.
We are also focusing on ensuring we bring up to speed key legislative aspects that are imperative to support the rapid digital transformation and the National Data Protection act and the Cyber Security Act, which are at the final stages of formalization. As we believe it is important to ensure a sustainable and robust digital environment for all.
Under the leadership of his Excellency the President it is by now evident the key priority and focus of our government is actively working towards a “digitally inclusive Sri Lanka”. While digital transformation is certain, it could be further accelerated by collaboration by all of us. Governments, civil societies, and the private sector must work together to ensure that digital technologies benefit not only the economy but society and the environment and have inclusion at their heart. Only then do we stand a chance of realizing the true transformative potential of digitalization to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and I look forward to all your support in making this a realization for Sri Lanka.
Thank you!!!

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