Sri Lanka backs hybrid sovereign cloud for digital economy

Sri Lanka is advancing plans for a hybrid sovereign cloud strategy as it builds the infrastructure for its digital economy, with officials arguing that sensitive government and financial data should remain within the country’s legal jurisdiction.

Speaking at the GROUNDED: Local Data Sovereignty Cloud Summit in Colombo, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne said the government is shifting toward a hybrid sovereign cloud framework to support digital public infrastructure, including a national digital ID and real-time payments system. “The government is shifting towards a hybrid and sovereign cloud framework to keep highly sensitive financial and government data within local, legally bound boundaries,” he said.

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has initiated a public consultation regarding a Cloud Policy and Strategy aimed at enhancing the country’s digital landscape. The draft documents released for stakeholder feedback emphasize the importance of secure and innovative cloud computing practices that align with national interests and promote inclusive growth.

Jointly organized by NCINGA and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the summit attracted a notable audience of public and private sector executives, financial industry leaders, and technology experts, including Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka on Digital Economy and Mayank Arora.

Because strict data sovereignty rules command that sensitive citizen and government data cannot freely leave Sri Lanka’s physical borders, AWS presented specific solutions custom-made to localized, low-latency, and heavily regulated environment.

Weeraratne discussed the potential for developing domestic artificial intelligence frameworks, such as “Sovereign AI” and the “NCINGA AI Factory,” designed to meet local needs and boost the delivery of secure, citizen-centric public services. To strengthen the national economy and promote financial inclusion, he highlighted the need for foundational digital public infrastructure, comprising a national digital ID and real-time payment systems.

Article Topics

Amazon Web Services (AWS)  |  cloud services  |  data protection  |  data sovereignty  |  digital public infrastructure  |  NCINGA  |  SL-UDI (Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity)  |  Sri Lanka