FM Bilawal urges Meta to open its office in Pakistan

NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday urged Facebook's parent firm Meta to open its office in Pakistan.

The foreign minister made the remarks during his meeting with President, Global Affairs at Meta, Nick Clegg in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

“Pakistan’s IT sector has registered strong growth in the recent past opening new opportunities for platforms like Meta to expand its operations in Pakistan,” said FM Bilawal.

During the meeting, the foreign minister briefed Clegg about the opportunities available in Pakistan, its tech-savvy young population (64%below the age of 30), high teledensity, massive digitization of the economy and business-friendly regulatory regime.

FM Bilawal also thanked Meta for donating Rs.125 million for humanitarian assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the deadly floods.

“These are testing times for Pakistan and this donation would be helpful for our flood relief operations,” he added.

The foreign minister said, “After the floods, the task of full recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction cannot be accomplished without the support of the private sector.”

Speaking on the occasion, Clegg expressed his solidarity and sympathy with Pakistan on the devastation caused by unprecedented floods.

He said that Meta’s Pakistan team comprised entirely of Pakistani professionals. He briefed the foreign minister on Meta’s ongoing connectivity and capacity-building programmes in Pakistan.

Clegg reaffirmed Meta’s interest in continued engagement with Pakistan to explore modalities of further strengthening collaboration in digital space.