Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that Sri Lanka plans to achieve the status of high income economy in the next two decades and that the rapid economic development required to achieve this goal depends on innovation and the promotion of Science and Technology.  

Therefore, the Ministry of Science & Technology has the lead role to ensure and establish a strong science and technology base in Sri Lanka as well as to mobilize the expertise both foreign and local needed to prepare this plan, he said. 

Delivering the welcome address at the Science and Technology for Society Forum 2016 in Colombo today (8), he said that Sri Lanka is turning a new page in its history. 

Inclusiveness, sustainability and greater engagement with international society are the three pillars upon which we plan to build our future, he said. 

The PM said that harmonious coexistence is at the core of inclusiveness and Sri Lanka has to re-learn that diversity is not divisive but can unleash the full potential of the creative human spirit.

Here in Sri Lanka, we need to establish a “research culture” in our institutions of higher learning, he stressed. “I am mindful of the sentiments, expressed to me by young Sri Lankan postgraduate students and post-doctoral fellows whom I met while travelling abroad, that this is lacking in our country today.” 

Having talked to our scientists, many of whom are dedicated to societal betterment through the introduction of science and technology, although the spirit is willing, our research infrastructure is yet quite weak, Wickremesinghe said.

“We are laying the foundations for a science and technology led drive to enter the global value chain, making Sri Lanka the dynamic Hub of the Indian Ocean as it was in times past along the maritime Silk Road.”