Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said that India has used innovations to become one of the most powerful nations in the world. Delivering the keynote address at the Innovation Island Summit organised by the Observer Research Foundation in Colombo, Mr. Dissanayake said that Sri Lanka needs to follow this path traversed by India. He stressed that by making Sri Lanka a digital economy, the island can progress. While stating that Sri Lanka has a good environment for business and innovation, President Dissanayake invited foreign investors to invest in the island.

It is notable that India is executing several projects of digital connectivity in Sri Lanka. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then President Ranil Wickremasinghe launched the Unified Payments Interface in Sri Lanka. India is also implementing a digital identity project through a grant, which is expected to boost Sri Lanka’s digital initiatives.

The two-day Innovation Island Summit is being organised by the Observer Research Foundation in association with the Capital Maharaja Group and facilitated by the High Commission of India. In the current event held today, India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, urged the islands in general and Sri Lanka in particular to innovate in technology and AI. He added that the islands need to maintain their unique character and not copy the West.