Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Hans Wijayasuriya, the Chief Executive Officer of Telecommunications Business and Group Executive Director at Malaysian Axiata Group Bhd as the Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy, his office said.
President Dissanayake has emphasized on digitization of the economy to formalize a large informal economy.
“The government plans, accordingly, to exploit technological advancement to enable the capture of leap-frog opportunities with respect to economic and social development leading to a progressive digital economy and an enhanced quality of life for all citizens,” the President’s Media Division said in a statement.
“Dr. Wijayasuriya’s appointment is a key move with regard to bringing to fruition the above vision.”
The PMD said Wijayasuriya has announced to step down his current position of Chief Executive Officer of Telecommunications Business and Group Executive Director at Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd, following a transition period.
“During this period, Dr Wijayasuriya will lead the Board of the ICTA in the capacity of Non-Executive Chairman, enabling the activation of programme planning and preparation activities related to the ambitious digital transformation aspirations of the GoSL (government of Sri Lanka).”
“He will subsequently take up several executive leadership roles within the institutional framework related to the digital economy following relevant legislative enactment.”
These include Secretary of a newly constituted Ministry of Digital Economy under the direct purview of the President, and Chair of the Digital Economy Authority, an apex body that will be mandated to oversee Digital Economy Acceleration.
