Sri Lanka is exploring the establishment of artificial intelligence (AI) data centres aimed at meeting both domestic and regional demand, while also creating a new source of foreign exchange earnings, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne said recently.
Speaking on the country’s digital economy ambitions, Weeraratne said procurement processes are currently underway to facilitate the development of AI data centre infrastructure in Sri Lanka.
“We are currently carrying out procurement processes to establish AI data centres in Sri Lanka. The objective is not only to meet local requirements but also to build a community that can provide AI data centre services to the wider region,” he said.
According to the deputy minister, the growing global demand for AI infrastructure presents an opportunity for Sri Lanka to position itself as a regional hub for AI-related services.
“Through this, we will be able to create another avenue for bringing foreign exchange into Sri Lanka because global demand for AI data centres is expected to increase significantly in the future,” he said.
Weeraratne noted that Sri Lanka’s favourable climate and renewable energy potential could help attract investment in sustainable AI infrastructure.
“We know that Sri Lanka is a country with strong potential for renewable energy. This gives us the opportunity to develop AI data centres powered by renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions and setting an example for other countries,” he said.
The deputy minister also stressed the importance of developing a skilled workforce capable of creating AI technologies, rather than solely using them.
“It is not enough for Sri Lanka to simply use AI technology. We need to build the workforce required to develop these technologies,” he said.
He further emphasized the need for Sri Lanka to develop its own large language model (LLM) tailored to the country’s cultural, linguistic and social context.
“If a country like Sri Lanka is to preserve its sovereignty, we need AI technologies and a large language model that reflect our culture, civilisation and language,” Weeraratne added. (Newswire)