Event marks the farewell of one leader and ambitious plans of another

At the Asian Development Bank’s Serendipity Knowledge Programme (SKOP) held at Shangri-La, Colombo, on October 15, a powerful narrative for Sri Lanka’s future unfolded, woven from a visionary national strategy and the oncoming poignant farewell of a departing architect of international cooperation.

The day’s discussions on cybersecurity and data protection concluded on a personal note from Takafumi Kadono, the ADB’s departing Country Director for Sri Lanka. In what he noted was his final SKOP workshop, Kadono reflected on the critical nature of the day’s topic. He confessed the forum had been an ‘eye-opener,’ revealing that the challenges of cybersecurity are not merely technological, but represent a whole threat to development and progress and an obstacle to the acceleration of the digital ecosystem. His perspective was shaped by stark international examples shared at the forum, such as Japan’s experience with a ransomware attack that halted Asahi’s beer production and another that crippled the Nagoya Port, alongside insights from Malaysia’s data privacy journey.

This sense of urgency complemented the ambitious blueprint detailed by Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, the Advisor to the President on Digital Economy. He emphasised that for Sri Lanka, digital transformation is not just an initiative but one of the three core pillars in President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s strategy to rejuvenate the nation’s economy. The goal he explained, was to leverage this transformation to significantly boost Sri Lanka’s GDP growth rate.

According to him, this commitment is backed by concrete targets: to expand the digital economy’s share of the overall economy from its current 3-4% to over 12% in the next four years. Alongside this, a key outward-reaching objective is to triple digital exports from approximately $1.8 billion to over $5 billion.

To achieve this, Dr. Wijayasuriya said, requires the ‘pervasiveness of the digital’ into all sectors of the economy. He described this as a deliberate ‘invasion’ of digital technology into every sphere, including agriculture, tourism, industry, services, and education. The fundamental ‘digital raw material’ for this transformation, he said, is ‘data’ in its many forms – be it personal, public, or IoT-generated.

With data as the raw material and artificial intelligence as the emerging tool, Dr. Wijayasuriya highlighted that the ‘two fundamental levers of leapfrogging opportunities’ for Sri Lanka are getting data privacy and protection right while maximising the ethical use of AI.

To build this future, he outlined a digital economy blueprint founded on ‘digital public infrastructure’ such as digital identity, data exchanges, and principles of interoperability. Accordingly, the ultimate aim is a resurgence in national efficiency and productivity, leading to a ‘seamless citizen and business experience’ in a transformed Sri Lankan economy.

“In this new landscape, the protection of data through robust cybersecurity and privacy measures becomes the central driver, enabling trust and creating a ‘security by design’ framework,” he explained.

Dr. Wijayasuriya used a powerful analogy to illustrate this point. “I am speaking from here freely without thinking about this stage crashing underneath me because this platform is stable,” he said, pointing to the podium. “It has 100% resilience, and I can trust it 100%. And that is what we need from data protection and the cybersecurity framework. Only with such a trusted foundation, he said, can Sri Lanka be agile and innovative enough to unleash its full digital potential.

“This foundation is also the key to a new competitive advantage,” Dr. Wijayasuriya said. He asserted that competing on the low cost of digital services is a ‘thing of the past’.

“Instead, Sri Lanka can go to the world with a new calling card: ‘agile innovation backed by a world-class privacy and trust framework’. By combining this trust framework with its ‘second to none’ talent, the nation can create a unique competitive edge in the region,” he noted.

Echoing this collaborative sentiment, Takafumi Kadono affirmed the ADB’s commitment goes beyond just financing digital infrastructure. He stressed that the ADB is investing equally or even more in strengthening the institutions, people and regulatory framework, with cybersecurity and data privacy being a key area for future support.

He also highlighted a core goal for the ADB, “We must ensure that this digital transformation is inclusive, closes the digital divide, and benefits all citizens and businesses across the island.”

As Dr. Wijayasuriya was wrapping up his speech amidst the emotional weight of Kadono’s farewell, he left the audience with a resonant vision. Harking back to an iconic, ancient name aptly coined for the island, Dr. Wijayasuriya shared his ‘sincere wish’ for the future: “The country will then be known as Serendib of trust, governance and security in the digital world”.

by Sanath Nanayakkare