Strengthening Smart City Ties: WeGO and the Embassy of Sri Lanka Explore Strategic Collaboration
Seoul, June 17, 2025 — The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) hosted a productive bilateral meeting with the Embassy of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Korea to explore avenues for deepened cooperation on smart city development and urban innovation. The meeting was attended by Mr. Jeong-Kee Kim, Secretary General of WeGO; Mr. Lii Inn Tan, Program Manager; and Ms. Hyeon-jeong Lee, Junior Program Officer. Representing the Embassy of Sri Lanka were H.E. Savitri I. Panabokke, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Korea, and Ms. Chandima Abeyrathna, Minister (Commercial).
The session opened with mutual greetings and introductions, followed by a presentation on WeGO’s mission, global activities, and ongoing programs, including the flagship Seoul Smart City Prize. Secretary General Kim emphasized WeGO’s commitment to supporting cities worldwide in achieving sustainable, technology-driven urban transformation. Ambassador Panabokke highlighted Sri Lanka’s current smart city priorities and ongoing urban development efforts. Stressing the importance of strategic planning and international expertise, the Ambassador expressed a strong interest in harnessing WeGO’s global network and technical support to advance smart city initiatives across the country.
The discussion also focused on potential areas of collaboration, with a particular emphasis on Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital and commercial hub. The Ambassador noted that Colombo’s newly appointed Mayor has demonstrated keen interest in smart city development, opening doors for future partnership with WeGO. WeGO’s upcoming mission trip to Sri Lanka was warmly welcomed by the Embassy, with both sides agreeing on the importance of arranging targeted meetings and exploring pilot projects. In addition, the Ambassador introduced several northern cities as potential members of the WeGO network, citing their distinct cultural and geographic significance. These include: Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Mannar, Anuradhapura. This meeting marks a promising step toward enhancing urban innovation and international cooperation between WeGO and Sri Lanka. Both parties expressed optimism for building a long-term partnership aimed at smart, inclusive, and sustainable urban development.
About WeGO
The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), is a membership-based international association of local governments, smart tech solution providers, and institutions committed to the transformation of cities into smart sustainable cities through facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP). WeGO was founded by 50 member cities in 2010 as the World e-Governments Organization, hence our acronym. In response to the evolving concept of smart cities, WeGO expanded its vision and mandate at the 7th General Assembly (2017) and its name to the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. WeGO’s Secretariat is based in Seoul, Korea, and has regional offices in East Asia (Chengdu, China), the Mediterranean (Beyoglu, Turkey), Africa (Abuja, Nigeria), Middle East & North Africa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Latin America (Cuenca, Ecuador), and Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan). As the leading platform on smart city development, WeGO’s mission is to share knowledge and good practices in e-Governance; strengthen administrative efficiency and transparency; advance digital capacity; facilitate civic involvement; bridge the digital divide and inequality; and promote cooperation solidarity among cities and local governments around the world.
WeGO serves for its members as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.
Press Contact:
Name: Kakim Danabayev
E-mail: kakim@we-gov.org
Phone: +82-70-4202-9169