Microsoft offers support to Government to achieve national digitalisation goals

Friday, 27 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently met with Microsoft International President Jean-Philippe Courtois on the sidelines of the 47th Annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. At the meeting the Premier and Courtois discussed how Microsoft could best assist the Sri Lankan Government to create a cross-Government productivity platform to enhance the ICT landscape and digitalise the economy. Supporting the Government’s digital transformation and good governance agenda, Microsoft will focus on aiding the Sri Lankan Government in education, innovation, entrepreneurship and modern government, which are amongst the many sectors in which Microsoft operates. Further to that, Microsoft has extended its support for the Government’s goal of providing one million jobs, one million devices to transform education and digitise government.

Microsoft is keen to help accelerate world class education capabilities in Sri Lanka, and to partner with the Ministry of Education to develop a 21st century learning plan, while piloting transformation projects with the Government including ‘Smart Classrooms’.

The global software company is also interested in assisting the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure with establishing a Government Security Program to enable regular monitoring on cyber threats and security.

Held annually in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum hosts representatives from over 40 countries over a period of four days to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world. This year, Jean-Philippe Courtois addressed participants of the forum on the topic ‘Promise or Peril: Decoding the Future of Work’.

Discussing the opportunities of fast-tracking the local attainment of a ‘digital Sri Lanka’, the meeting held between the two parties at last year’s Forum in Davos, set the foundation for a MoU scheduled to be signed between the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure and Microsoft Sri Lanka.