Foreign Ministry responds to Harsha’s comments, clarifies plans to overhaul outdated govt websites

Responding to concerns raised by SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva in Parliament yesterday regarding the government’s outdated and non-functional official websites, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the issues stem from obsolete technological foundations used across government and diplomatic mission websites.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday (17), Dr. Harsha de Silva sharply criticized the government’s official websites, particularly the sections related to economic diplomacy and overseas investment facilitation. 

He highlighted that key webpages still display information from 2018–2019 and noted that the “Office of Overseas Sri Lankans” link on certain diplomatic mission sites leads only to error pages.

Issuing a response to the MP’s speech which was published by Ada Derana, MFA Spokesman Thushara Rodrigo emphasized that the problems raised are due to longstanding technical limitations. 

He explained that the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, as well as many Sri Lankan diplomatic missions are currently running on outdated technology.

He further stated that “some websites may no longer be available if updates are carried out at this stage. To address these complex technical issues, a common website platform will be created for all Sri Lankan diplomatic missions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

A contract for the development of this unified platform was awarded to a developer on 17 October 2025 and the project is progressing under the guidance of the Ministry of Digital Economy, ICTA, and SLCERT, he explained.

The Spokesman noted that an interagency meeting was held on 31 October to connect all Sri Lankan diplomatic missions, identify their individual challenges, and coordinate the project. He added that the work is expected to be completed by mid-January 2026.

This comprehensive approach to developing the Ministry and mission websites is being implemented under the instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, he said, noting that this is the first initiative of its kind under the government’s digitalization programme.

He concluded by assuring that “the public will benefit from these improvements in the near future.”

“Oops is not a foreign policy” - Harsha slams govt’s outdated and nonexistent official websites#adaderana #latestnews #lka #srilanka #adaderanaenglish #news #lanka #SriLankaNews #SriLanka #Parliament #srilankaparliament @HarshadeSilvaMP pic.twitter.com/8QmS0NmFuz

— Ada Derana (@adaderana) November 17, 2025