Highlighting the concerning issue of brain drain from the Global South to the North, President Ranil Wickremesinghe delivered a compelling address at the G77 and China Summit in Havana, Cuba.

Addressing the Summit yesterday (15), President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasised the unprecedented challenges confronting the global South, including the pandemic, climate change, and food, fertiliser, and energy crises, all of which threaten the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and exacerbate the global debt crisis.

President Wickremesinghe traced the historical context of technological development, underlining the need for developing nations to adopt digitalization and cutting-edge technologies like Big Data, IoT, AI, Blockchain, Biotechnology, and Genome Sequencing to bridge the emerging technological divide. He stressed the importance of a well-educated workforce with technological expertise to drive development and progress in developing nations.

The President detailed his government's initiatives, including the evaluation of underperforming Science and Technology Research Institutes and the establishment of a Technology and Innovation Council and a Digital Transformation Agency.

According to the President, Sri Lanka also plans to create specialized universities focusing on new technologies.

President Wickremesinghe addressed the brain drain from the South to the North and urged compensation for the loss of manpower. He emphasized increased South-South cooperation, proposing a scheme to enhance collaboration and policy development.

“...we must ask for compensation from the North for the loss of our manpower,” said he.