COLOMBO - Huawei Sri Lanka CEO Liang Yi on Friday vowed to provide knowledge transfer for Sri Lanka's youth through the company's Seeds for the Future corporate social responsibility program.

Liang was speaking at the graduation ceremony for the fourth batch of local ICT undergraduates who were sponsored to travel to China and experience Huawei's state-of-the-art labs since the program was launched in 2016.

"We believe that local ICT talent is one of key elements to drive the digital economy," Liang said. "Access to education is vital to create opportunities that support fair and sustainable development in this beautiful country," he added.

The graduation ceremony was also attended by Economic and Commercial Counsellor Yang Zuoyuan from Chinese Embassy in Colombo, and Sri Lanka's Secretary to Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovations, Anura Dissanayake.

Secretary Dissanayake thanked Huawei "for the wonderful opportunity granted to enhance the skills of the youth to reach new heights within the ICT and Innovation sector."

The program provides ten students every year a chance to spend two weeks at Huawei's campus in China. The program is aimed at transferring technical and managerial knowledge to local ICT graduates in order to boost the local ICT industry.

Students selected for the program also have the opportunity to learn about Chinese culture and visit historical sites.

Huawei Sri Lanka is a top ICT solutions and smartphone provider in the island country, with 400 employees, 86 percent of whom are locals. It indirectly creates over 3000 jobs.