US-Backed Plan Targets AI, Cloud and Cyber Security

COLOMBO (News 1st); A quiet but potentially transformative conversation is gathering momentum behind the scenes of Sri Lanka's digital future.

Senior representatives from the Ministry of Digital Economy, GovTech Sri Lanka, the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka and CyberCX Australia recently met to discuss a proposed programme backed by anticipated US assistance aimed at strengthening Sri Lanka's Sovereign Government Cloud and expanding the country's national computing infrastructure.

At a time when nations are racing to secure data, strengthen cyber defences and build artificial intelligence capabilities, Sri Lanka is positioning itself for the next phase of its digital journey.

Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne welcomed the expected American support, describing enhanced national computing infrastructure and sovereign cloud capabilities as key building blocks for the country's digital ambitions. He also stressed on the importance of expanding Sri Lanka's AI computing capacity and building a secure, resilient digital ecosystem capable of supporting future innovation.

The discussions revealed that groundwork is already underway. Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Presidential Chief Adviser on the Digital Economy and Chairman of GovTech Sri Lanka, said preliminary engagement had begun with potential investors interested in data centre development, while assessments are continuing to determine the country's sovereign cloud requirements.

Meanwhile, Shevan Gunatilake, Chief Executive Officer of GovTech Sri Lanka, said the agency would work closely with CyberCX and government institutions to identify priorities and design projects that could be rolled out under the proposed grant assistance programme.

Representing the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka, Evan Fowler reaffirmed Washington's commitment to supporting Sri Lanka's digital infrastructure ambitions and noted that CyberCX had been selected as the implementation partner for the proposed initiative.

Beyond cloud infrastructure, the discussions stretched into some of the most consequential technology issues facing Sri Lanka today. Participants examined the implementation of the Personal Data Protection Act, international cyber security standards, the country's evolving cyber security landscape and future upgrades to the Lanka Government Cloud platform.

A significant focus was placed on artificial intelligence and what a national AI ecosystem could look like. Officials discussed the development of AI tools for public services, multilingual language models capable of operating in Sinhala, Tamil and English, data-driven government applications and specialised AI solutions tailored for sectors such as healthcare and agriculture.

Representatives from CyberCX Australia also outlined the company's capabilities in cyber security assessments, 24-hour Security Operations Centres, cyber security training, workforce development and cloud technology integration, signalling the scale of expertise that could be brought into the project.

While no final agreements have yet been announced, the discussions point to a much larger vision taking shape, one in which Sri Lanka seeks not only to modernise government services but also to build the digital backbone needed to compete in an increasingly AI-driven global economy. If realised, the initiative could become one of the country's most significant technology infrastructure programmes in recent years.