Source: News nine
Wickremesinghe made these remarks at a conference on DPI organised by the High Commission of India in Colombo.
While talking about his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India last year, Wickremesinghe said he discussed the current challenges faced by Sri Lanka and the necessity for assistance, particularly from India in DPI.
The seminar, drawing from India’s DPI success and global experiences, explored avenues for Sri Lanka to capitalise on digital governance and market transformations.
During the event, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, highlighted India’s Digital India initiative’s achievements under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. He highlighted recent events such as the launch of UPI in Sri Lanka and India’s forthcoming unique digital identity project in the country.
Dr. Pramod Varma, Co-Chair of the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure, outlined Digital India’s successes across sectors. He detailed India’s remarkable progress from being one of the least banked countries in 2008, with less than 20% banking penetration, to achieving over 80% penetration in less than a decade.
India, among top three creditors to sri Lanka
According to Sri Lanka’s official data, China tops the list of its creditors with 43 per cent followed by Japan with 23 per cent and India with 15 per cent.
Some of China’s infrastructure investments in Sri Lanka drew global concerns over Beijing’s debt diplomacy especially after China took over Hambantota port on a 99-year debt swap.
Seventeen countries have extended loans to Sri Lanka and formed the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) last year for ease of debt restructuring negotiations. China opted to stay out of the platform but has been attending its meetings as an observer.
