Sri Lanka held bilateral talks with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Singapore on Monday on the sidelines of the Asia Tech 2026 conference, focused on accelerating the country’s digital transformation in partnership with the foundation.
The Sri Lankan delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne, discussed technical and advisory support for the national AI strategy and the “AI for Public Good” programme, Ada Derana reported. Hari Menon represented the Gates Foundation. Both sides agreed that Sri Lanka’s draft AI policy framework would be reviewed by the foundation, and that further technical dialogue would be initiated to enhance digital government infrastructure.
The talks also covered the next phase of the “Inclusive Digital Agriculture Transformation (IDAT 2)” project, with an emphasis on improving farmer productivity, expanding market access, building climate resilience and introducing AI-based advisory services. Cooperation with digital public goods initiatives, including AI Singapore and the EkStep Foundation, was also explored.
The Chief Executive Officer of GovTech Sri Lanka was invited for a knowledge-sharing visit to Bangalore to study global developments in digital identity systems. The new engagement extends the national AI policy framework for higher education launched on May 8 with US Embassy support, and lands alongside this week’s Cabinet approval to formulate Sri Lanka’s first National Space Policy under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Source: Ada Derana.
