📈 India-Sri Lanka AI Partnership & Global South Impact

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to attend the India AI Impact Summit (18-20 Feb 2026) in New Delhi, marking a pivotal moment for Sri Lanka’s integration into the global digital economy. The summit emphasizes AI as a "developmental imperative" for the Global South rather than just a technological trend. • Strategic Bilateral Cooperation Following the April 2025 MoU on Digital Transformation, India is deepening support for Sri Lanka’s foundational infrastructure. The collaboration focuses on joint research, startup linkages, and scaling digital public goods to foster equitable growth. • Digital Identity Progress The Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) project, supported by a LKR 10.4 Bn (approx. US$ 34 Mn) Indian grant, is steadily progressing. This framework is a structural enabler for: Financial Inclusion & targeted welfare delivery. Efficient public service delivery via the "e-Locker" mobile app. The launch is targeted for Q3 2026 based on provisional timelines. • Regional AI Ecosystem Highlights India's Capacity: Ranked 3rd globally in AI competitiveness; the India AI Mission has onboarded 38,000 GPUs with an investment exceeding US$ 1 Bn (Rs. 10,372 Crore). Open Resources: The AIKosh platform now hosts over 7,500 datasets and 273 AI models to democratize innovation for researchers and startups. Target Sectors: AI applications are being prioritized for agriculture, healthcare diagnostics, disaster preparedness, and multilingual education. • Future Outlook The partnership aims to leverage India's high-performance compute capacity and open datasets to help Sri Lanka "leapfrog" developmental hurdles. Focus remains on Safe & Trusted AI governance to ensure transparency and public trust in digital ecosystems.