India and Sri Lanka Convene First Cyber Consultations in Colombo to Strengthen Digital Security and AI Governance

India and Sri Lanka held their inaugural bilateral cyber consultations in Colombo on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, marking an expansion of their technological partnership into critical frontiers including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. A senior Indian official delegation led the discussions, focusing on cybersecurity governance, cross-border threat intelligence sharing, and safeguarding the financial ecosystems of both nations.   

The visiting Indian delegation featured Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General of CERT-India, and Amit Shukla, Joint Secretary for Cyber Diplomacy at India's Ministry of External Affairs. The mission forms part of a wider bilateral framework dedicated to digitalization and cooperative engagement across emerging technologies.   

During the diplomatic visit, the Indian representatives met with Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne. The two sides reviewed cybersecurity governance structures, analyzed the complex security risks introduced by rapid artificial intelligence adoption, and evaluated mechanisms for sharing threat assessments. They also examined best operational practices deployed by CERT-India, with particular emphasis on technical capacity building and rapid incident response protocols.  

The delegation subsequently held talks with Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando. These deliberations centered on coordinating cybersecurity measures to achieve the shared objective of protecting digital economies and maintaining resilient financial systems against cyber risks.   

The mission concluded with technical discussions between the Indian delegates and senior leadership at Sri Lanka CERT, including Chairman Thilak Pathirage and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kanishka Karunasena. Both teams outlined actionable avenues for future cooperation, focusing on systematic knowledge exchange, cyber crisis management, institution-level capacity building, and the formulation of national strategies governing quantum computing and artificial intelligence. (News21)