SLT-MOBITEL and ZTE sign historic MOU to collaborate for local device manufacturing and Talent Development

To unlock the potential of Sri Lanka’s digital economy and leverage advanced technologies, SLT-MOBITEL, the National ICT Solutions Provider signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions to collaborate on manufacturing devices on a local scale.

The MOU was signed by Lalith Seneviratne, Group Chief Executive Officer, SLT, Priyantha Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer, SLT, Chandika Vitharana, Chief Executive Officer, Mobitel and Yang Chenhui, Director for Core Network for Asia-Pacific region, ZTE at The Embryo, Group R&D Center of SLT-MOBITEL at Trace Express city, Colombo 10. .

Rohan Fernando, Group Chairman, SLT, Yang Min, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE and Li Shuhai, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, ZTE also attended the signing ceremony together with senior management and executives from both companies.

Under the MOU, SLT-MOBITEL and ZTE will collaborate with potential parties to jointly provide expertise and resources to establish a local manufacturing plant for the production of customer premises equipment, dongles and mobile phones.

According to the agreement, both parties have also agreed to collaborate based on a mutually beneficial framework of research and development facilitating greater cooperation in advancing the innovation landscape of the country.

Importantly, this is the first partnership of its kind in Sri Lanka with ZTE, demonstrating SLT-MOBITEL’s commitment to support the nation’s digitalization journey.

Commenting on the new partnership Rohan Fernando, Group Chairman stated, “We take great pride in announcing our MOU with ZTE Corporation, one of the leaders in advanced telecommunications technology. This strategic partnership supports SLT-MOBITEL’s efforts to incorporate best practices in manufacturing processes, accelerate the development of technological solutions and provide a world-class telecom infrastructure for the people of Sri Lanka leveraging the technical expertise of ZTE Corporation and while pursuing our vision of enriching people’s digital lives. We look forward to working with ZTE Corporation on this exciting new initiative.”

Yang Min, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE also gave his comments, saying, “We are pleased to partner with SLT-MOBITEL, the nation’s ICT leader, providing important technological developments and sharing of expertise supporting Sri Lanka to build an industry ecosystem based on open collaboration. We are encouraged to note Sri Lanka has an enabling environment providing international businesses the requisite confidence to invest especially in technological ventures, and also participate in the telecommunication revolution taking place in the country.”

Consequent to this landmark announcement, SLT-MOBITEL and ZTE signed a strategic Bilateral MOU in the areas of resource sharing and talent development programs to be conducted at the SLT Training Centre (SLTTC), the company’s technical training institution. Lalith Seneviratne, Group Chief Executive Officer, SLT, Priyantha Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer, SLT, and Yang Min, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE signed on behalf of their respective institutions.