India and Sri Lanka have held their first cyber-security consultations in Colombo, focusing on cyber-security governance, emerging threats posed by artificial intelligence and greater cooperation in areas including cyber crisis management and capacity building.
According to a statement issued by the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, the consultations were held as part of the broader bilateral partnership on digitalisation and growing engagement in emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Indian delegation comprised Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General of CERT-In, and Amit Shukla, Joint Secretary for Cyber Diplomacy at India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
During the visit, the delegation met Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne, with discussions focusing on cyber-security governance frameworks and emerging challenges posed by AI to cyber security.
The two sides also discussed the need to exchange cyber threat assessments and best practices adopted by CERT-In, particularly in areas such as capacity building and incident response.
The Indian delegation also met the Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, where discussions centred on strengthening cyber-security cooperation in support of the two countries’ shared objective of maintaining a secure financial system and digital economy.
Detailed discussions were also held with Sri Lanka CERT Chairman Thilak Pathirage and CEO Dr. Kanishka Karunasena on potential areas for further collaboration.
These included knowledge exchange, capacity building, cyber crisis management and the development of national-level strategies relating to quantum computing and artificial intelligence, the High Commission said.
The consultations form part of ongoing India-Sri Lanka cooperation on digitalisation and emerging technologies, with both sides exploring avenues to deepen collaboration in cyber security. (Newswire)