Letters & Speeches
Ambassador Blake's Speech to the AmCham CEO/CIO Forum
"Leveraging IT for Long-Term Growth in the U.S. and Sri Lanka"
March 24, 2008, 9:00am, Hilton Hotel
Good Morning AmCham members, SLASSCOM partner, ladies and gentlemen,
It is always a pleasure for me to address the American Chamber of Sri Lanka. I commend the Board -- and in particular the IT committee, for your great timing -- as always -- in working to address the needs of your companies.
I'd also like to congratulate SLASSCOM for quickly establishing itself as an active and innovative Chamber. I know they will help to bring a great voice to the IT and BPO sector in Sri Lanka as they work to achieve their goals of facilitating IT/BPO trade and business, the propagation of education and employment, the encouragement of research and innovation, and the creation of a progressive national policy framework."
Finally -- let me warmly welcome NASSCOM President Som Mittal. From my time in India, I am very familiar with the tremendous impact NASSCOM has had on the Indian IT sector. NASSCOM has been instrumental in helping to make the Indian IT sector the powerhouse that it is today through its promotion of the industry domestically and internationally, its work with the Indian government in formulating IT policies and legislation, and its world-class research and inputs for the industry and stakeholder. I am confident that SLASSCOM will be just as effective and productive in Sri Lanka as NASSCOM is in India.
Turning to the topic at hand, the last few months have brought about unparalleled challenges to businesses, governments, and private individuals. These are challenges that will likely take some time to fully overcome. The global economy continues to feel the effects of the global recession, and the question on everyone's mind is: when will the turnaround come?
While I'd like to be optimistic and say tomorrow, the truth is that we simply do not know. But not knowing does not mean action cannot be, or should not be, taken now. Quite the opposite. President Obama and his administration are working hard to help turn around our economy. This includes a variety of bold stimulus efforts to help provide short-term relief while laying the groundwork for long-term sustained growth, support to the banking and financial sector, and working with international partners to ensure that global efforts are coordinated so that they can help recovery, instead of impair it through protectionist measures.
Today you will discuss and look at options for maximizing your return on IT investments within your companies. Apart from what businesses are doing to survive in the current environment while planning for future success, it is also important that we in the public sector do what we can to promote growth. This is particularly important in the IT sector in the U.S., as innovation is the true driver of our growth.
Today I'd like to briefly address the connection between education, IT, and long-term economic growth.
As all of you will have seen, in February President Obama signed a new economic stimulus package worth a staggering 787 billion dollars. A good amount of this will be used for education. As President Obama has stated, "If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow, we must out-educate the world today." As a result, a significant portion of education spending under this stimulus package will be used to put new computers into our school classrooms, ensuring that children have access at a young age to the internet and -- more importantly -- the global economy. We must make these investments now, if we are to reap the rewards in the future.
The U.S. government is also making substantial efforts to ensure that broadband internet access is available nation-wide. President Obama rightly noted that it is unacceptable for the United States to rank 15th in the world in broadband adoption. All of us -- but especially children -- need to have high-quality internet access if we are to not only maintain, but strengthen America's competitiveness in the world. As a result, my government plans to spend around $8 billion within the next two years for the construction of new broadband internet networks around the nation. Knowing that the public and industry are large stakeholders in ensuring that these funds are used appropriately, the agencies tasked with the distribution of funds are holding public meetings -- one of which will occur later today -- to discuss how to best to implement the programs.
The extension of broadband throughout my country will not only to help the economy to recover, but to aid long-term GDP growth. As NASSCOM could attest, the value of e-business is constantly expanding. In the United States, if you want your business to grow, you must ensure that you have a webpage that encompasses the uniqueness and value of your product and/or service, whether that be the sale of hardcover books or the ability to develop complex computer software systems for healthcare companies. IT, as we here all know, is now the cornerstone of any successful business. Having adequate access to that cornerstone is a requirement for any company or country to further develop and compete successfully in the world economy.
Sri Lanka is an economy in transition. As I have highlighted before, I believe that Sri Lanka should be doing all that it can to help promote and enhance its "knowledge economy." The World Bank defines knowledge economies as those that create, disseminate, and use knowledge to enhance growth and development. The Bank published a report last year that described how Sri Lanka could help itself by becoming a knowledge economy, which requires a strong government focus on investing in education, innovation, and information and communications technology.
Sri Lanka has an excellent reputation in advancing students through O and A levels. However, the government must do more at the tertiary level for the country to enhance Sri Lanka’s ability to compete in the ever-advancing global environment. It should consider expanding the current number of public universities and be open to the establishment of private universities to ensure that those individuals who want to further their education have the opportunities to do so locally.
With the war drawing to a likely end, the government has the opportunity to invest further in education. A strong focus on the enhancement of IT skills is one way in which the government could help unify the country. President Rajapaksa has named 2009 as the Year of English and IT. Part of this initiative involves increasing the IT literacy rate, with the goal of reaching a 50% IT literacy rate by end-2010. This is a laudable goal, and one I'm proud that the U.S. and local businesses have already helped to advance through the addition of IT training in several vocational schools that USAID has built in the South and East and through the "Last Mile Initiative", or LMI.
The LMI is a public-private partnership that created 55 IT centers in rural areas with the goal of promoting rural wireless broadband access that demonstrates the ability of technology to empower individuals and strengthen communities. The centers also provide rural residents a chance to acquire employment skills through online training, search for new jobs, and receive micro-loans and other banking services in addition to calling relatives overseas at low rates. While the profitability and success of these centers will vary the private sector has recognized the effectiveness of the technology and plans to use the technology to expand the number of such centers several fold.
Another part of President Rapajaksa's initiative is to put in place a plan that will ensure Sri Lanka has sufficient IT resources to take the country to the next level of IT-led development. This is key. I hope this effort will include a special emphasis on the development of IT in the East and North. IT is a multiplier in any economy. Providing the basic facilities for the communities in these areas to have easy and reliable access to IT will not only help in their domestic development, but can serve to helping attract foreign as well as local companies to expand their businesses into these areas, in turn providing employment and new opportunities for those struggling to bring a sense of normalcy to their lives. If the government helps to put in place an enabling environment -- not just investment incentives, but also through the provision of basic IT training and skills development -- then the private sector will invest.
In conclusion, as both the public and private sectors envision where we would like our countries and economies to be in 10 years, we must work together to ensure that we are setting the stage today for a successful future. The link between IT and economic growth is well established. To ensure we can compete effectively, our citizens and employees must have the best access possible to the information and communications technology that drives the global economy. You as companies need to do so to remain profitable. Governments need to do so by helping to provide you with an enabling environment to ensure the best trained workers will be available to help your companies grow, and, in turn, help our countries and citizens prosper.
I congratulation AmCham again on organizing today's seminar, and I trust you all will find today's discussions both informative and enlightening.
Thank you.