Microsoft offers support to govt.’s digitalization drive

Ranil Wickremasinghe meeting with Jean Philippe Courtois together with Harin Fernando and Ravi Karunanayake 

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently met with Jean-Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft International, on the sidelines of the 47th Annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 
At the meeting the Premier and Courtois, discussed how Microsoft will best assist the Sri Lankan government to create a cross-government productivity platform to enhance the ICT landscape and digitalize 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 Microsoft operates in. 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 digitizegovernment. 
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.