Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith P Perera participated at the Global Conference on Cyberspace, from 16-17 April 2015 in the Netherlands.

Speaking at the conference, the Deputy Minister stressed that Information and Communication Technology was the tool and enabler that would push the boundaries of socio-economic development in Sri Lanka. He also stressed that e-Government led reforms would be a catalyst in bringing greater transparency, efficiency and accountability.

Perera pointed out that Sri Lanka’s Networked Readiness Index has improved steadily and the UN e-Government Readiness rank has also jumped 41 places, bringing Sri Lanka to No. 1 position in South Asia. Speaking further, he said that a large number of government services are now available on line to citizens through Sri Lanka’s country portal (LankaGate), facilitated by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka.

The new Government’s 100 day programme has guaranteed access to free Wifi as a citizen’s right, he added, saying that the government plans to expand the number of Wifi hotspots around the country.

Sri Lanka has had a long-standing tradition of supporting an open, interoperable and secure Internet, Perera said, pointing out that it remains an active participant of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and supports the Internet Governance Forum.

The Deputy Minister also said that whilst protecting the freedom of the Internet, Sri Lanka has adapted several policy and institutional measures to combat internet crimes. Sri Lanka was recently invited to join the Budapest Cyber Crime Convention of the Council of Europe, Perera said, adding that Sri Lanka are strongly committed towards fast tracking our accession to this global convention.