ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed social media platform Facebook’s investment and programmes in the country and asked the company to increase its footprint in Pakistan.
The PM invited the social media giant for investments in a virtual meeting with Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg on Friday.
The two discussed Facebook’s investments in Pakistan, the company’s support for digital literacy initiatives in the country and its work around Covid-19.
During the meeting, the prime minister acknowledged the immense potential digital platforms such as Facebook provide, and the role they can play in giving “global opportunities to Pakistani youth and entrepreneurs and how the opportunities they create can lift people out of poverty”.
The PM also raised concerns around the global rise in hate and extremism and acknowledged the immense challenge of fighting hate speech online.
The two also discussed Facebook’s connectivity investments and research grants that were awarded this year to Pakistan-based academics.
Other topics that were discussed included Facebook’s blood donations product, which saw more than 5 million people sign up since its launch, as well as Facebook’s support for the government’s goal of a polio-free Pakistan.
The PM and Sandberg also spoke about Facebook’s SheMeansBusiness Program which is training some 6,700 women across Pakistan.
Sandberg and PM Imran Khan last met in Davos, Switzerland, in January this year.
