Sri Lanka is poised for greater economic growth and development, said world’s richest entrepreneurs, Bill Gates to President Mahinda Rajapakse via a special audio visual message at a ceremony to handover a plaque incorporating the first copy of the Sinhala Language Interface Pack (LIP), from Microsoft and ICTA.

He also emphasized that on its part, Microsoft stands ready to fully support the initiative and Sri Lanka’s broader IT-objectives over the long term.

The presentation was part of Microsoft and ICTA efforts to mark the “Year of English and IT Services” this year.

He said he was “very excited to learn about plans for the year which have a clear focus on IT, because this initiative demonstrates” that President Rajapaksa, and his government recognize the extraordinary potential that information technology has to dramatically improve people’s lives in the country.

“Sri Lanka has an advantage though, with a government that’s committed to investing further in IT, as outlined in President Rajapaksa’s vision statement. Like President, I am optimistic that the country is poised for greater economic growth and development and much of that will be fueled by the use of software and the power of IT.

Sri Lanka’s high literacy rate, at over 90%, and its high standards of education and healthcare give it a strong economic foundation. The country’s IT literacy rate is nearing 20%, which represents a significant jump from 8% only a few years ago.

English language speaking skills are also a crucial part of the foundation for future growth. I am pleased to see that the government has identified the importance of English language skills by declaring 2009 the Year of English and IT Services,” Gates said in his message.

The theme of the work we do in Sri Lanka is “Creating Employability.” Through our Partners in Learning and Community Technology Skills Programs and our other initiatives, Microsoft has partnered with educational and non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka to bring IT skills and training to over a million people across the country. These efforts have reached students, teachers, academia, rural communities, IT professionals, and migrant workers.

To date, Microsoft has invested over 450 million rupees in Sri Lanka towards these programs and plans similar investments over the coming years.

We have already made Windows Vista Sinhala enabled, and we are currently localizing our Office Suite for Sri Lanka,” he said.