Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation assures support to Sri Lanka

Key representatives of the globally-renowned philanthropy organisation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), including Southeast Asia Lead for Policy and Government Relations and India Country Director Hari Menon, were in Sri Lanka last week, committing support towards rebuilding the country. 
Leading global donor agencies have also extended their support towards the BMGF to bring hope and positivity to Sri Lankan citizens through digitally-led initiatives. The BMFG delegation included Jamal Khetran, Ruchika Chugh Sachdeva, Siddarth Chaturvedi and 
Leonie Vierck.
The delegation met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Chief of Staff to President Sagala Rathnayake, embassies, key ministry officials and several prominent 
industry leaders.
The BMFG and Sri Lankan government have been in discussions since 2021 to explore collaboration opportunities in areas of mutual interest. These conversations followed the letter sent in April 2021 to Bill Gates by the Technology Ministry, which shared Sri Lanka’s digital transformation vision. By then, the ministry had already formed a committee to bring down global tech CSR initiatives to the country,