SL President an example to world leaders: Bill Gates

Friday, 22 August 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

In a glowing tribute to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, commended the President for his leadership in socio-economic uplift of the less privileged through information technology. The steps taken by the Sri Lankan President for people empowerment and a systematic socio-economic development through ICT is an example to other world leaders, the business magnate said. Gates said that just as President Mahinda Rajapaksa believed, he too held the view that information technology played a pivotal role in social development. The former Chief Executive and Chairman of Microsoft said so on 18 August while presenting the world’s highest information technology award. Gates praised Rajapaksa for having faced the challenges and taken steps for providing opportunity for everyone to benefit from information technology. Gates said that he greatly valued, in particular, the intervention the President was taking through IT to widen the socio-economic development opportunities to the less privileged in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Nenasala project won the award for the world’s best rural information technology project. The award presentation took place at the conference of international library science experts in the city of Lyon in France.