Vow to empower Sri Lanka digitally

CHINESE multinational company Huawei yesterday vowed to strengthen Sri Lanka’s digital economy and transform the island nation into a digitally empowered one. At the unveiling of a new centre in the capital, Colombo, Shunli Wang, the chief executive of Huawei Sri Lanka, said Sri Lanka was a potential market because of where it is located in the Indian Ocean and that it has the potential to connect to the rest of the world. Wang said that, with a population of 20 million, Sri Lanka was an aspiring market and Huawei was trying to help the national government to achieve its goal of digital empowerment. “Currently, Sri Lanka gains 80 percent of its information from overseas. As time goes on, Sri Lanka will need to communicate more with the world. We are willing to do more in terms of connecting Sri Lanka to the rest of the world,” Wang said. The newly opened Huawei Customer Solutions Innovation and Integration Experience Centre (CSIC) will enable customers to experience, validate and build information and communications technology solutions (ICT). The CSIC, which is built on the concept of cloud computing and leading information technology infrastructure, will allow customers to develop innovative ICT solutions, share Huawei’s global best practices and exchange ideas. It will facilitate innovation based on customers’ demands and business environments. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, Harin Fernando, said at the launch: “As we progress to develop Sri Lanka to be a digitally empowered nation, the role of information communications technology becomes even more vital. The launch of the Huawei Customer Solutions Innovation and Integration Experience Centre would further help us to innovate as we work together to bridge the digital divide and help citizens to enhance their living standards and quality of life.”