A meeting was convened yesterday morning at the Presidential Secretariat to review the progress of projects implemented under the Ministry of Digital Economy for 2025 and to evaluate new initiatives planned for the 2026 budget. The session was presided over by the Minister of Digital Economy, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Significant attention was directed towards the strategies and advancements related to promoting a cashless economy. The discussion extensively covered the government’s projects aimed at fostering a cashless economy in Sri Lanka. Key initiatives include the digitalisation of government institutions, the promotion of QR transactions, the establishment of a Cloud infrastructure center, a national program to enhance high-speed broadband facilities, the provision of single-window facilities, the digital identity card project, and the digitalisation of traffic spot fine payments.

President Dissanayake underscored the importance of formally documenting the economic activities within rural communities, which largely remain in the informal sector. He stressed that this documentation is crucial for developing future economic and development plans.

The review also covered the performance, progress, and future strategies of institutions under the Ministry of Digital Economy. This includes Sri Lanka CERT, the Data Protection Authority, and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). Additionally, the current status and recruitment updates of the GovTech institution, which is tasked with implementing the government’s digitalisation program, were discussed.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne; Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake; Senior Presidential Adviser on Digital Economy, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya; Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Roshan Gamage; Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy, Varuna Sri Dhanapala; along with senior officials from the Ministry and heads of associated institutions.