The official press conference announcing "Sri Lanka AI Week 2026" was successfully held today (05), marking a major national initiative aimed at accelerating Sri Lanka’s digital economic transformation and positioning the country as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub. Jointly organized by the Ministry of Digital Economy, GovTech Sri Lanka, and SLT-MOBITEL, the flagship event is scheduled to take place from September 28 to October 4, 2026.
During the press conference, the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, officially launched the "Sri Lanka AI Week 2026" website. Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister Weeraratne highlighted that human development has evolved from the Stone Age through the Information Age into the current "IQ Era." He emphasized that Sri Lanka must transition from being a passive consumer of global technology to an active producer of AI solutions. He added that empowering the local IT sector with AI capabilities rooted in research and development (R&D) is crucial to achieving the national target of US$5 billion in tech export revenue.
Building on the success of the inaugural National AI Exhibition and Summit held in 2025, this year's event has been significantly expanded with the participation of regional and global partners. Under the theme "AI Amplified," Sri Lanka AI Week 2026 will feature three main pillars: an International Conference showcasing global trends and strategic insights, a Tech Exhibition presenting cutting-edge solutions from local and international innovators, and an Awards Ceremony recognizing excellence among Sri Lankan innovators and researchers. The Deputy Minister further outlined the Ministry’s vision to democratize AI technology across the nation beyond Colombo, supported by sovereign digital infrastructure under the DIGIECON 2030 and SLUDI projects, alongside plans to establish a dedicated National AI Institute.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Mothilal de Silva, Chairman of the SLT Group, stated that 2026 marks the largest AI transformation in SLT’s history. He affirmed that SLT-MOBITEL is fully committed to positioning Sri Lanka as a Regional AI Center by accelerating 5G rollout, modernizing IP infrastructure, and upgrading data centers to AI-ready status.
The press conference also featured addresses by key leaders and officials, including Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL); Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy and Chairman of GovTech Sri Lanka; and Mr. Riyaaz Rasheed, Chief Executive Officer of SLT-MOBITEL. Additionally, Mr. Theekshana Kumara, Founder of 'Child Friendly Internet', spoke on the critical importance of online safety and child protection in the AI era.
The event concluded with the official unveilings of two major sub-initiatives, 'AI Hub' and 'SMART AI'. Through the combined efforts of the Ministry of Digital Economy, GovTech, SLT-MOBITEL, academia, innovators, and industry leaders, Sri Lanka AI Week 2026 aims to firmly establish the island nation as South Asia’s premier AI technology hub.
