Prime minister lauds telecos efforts for socioeconomic progress of country

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi while appreciating the partnership between Telenor Group and Ant Financials said here on Tuesday that it is a manifestation of favourable government policies for foreign investment in Pakistan.

He witnessed signing of MoU between Telenor Group and Ant Financial Services Group for strategic partnership agreement in Pakistan at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) and welcomed Ant Financials decision to invest in Pakistan and lauded Telenor’s efforts towards the socioeconomic development of the country.

He said that the collaboration would help broadening access to financial services through digital payment solutions. Minister for IT & Telecom Ms. Anusha Rehman, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing, Norwegian Ambassador to Pakistan Tore Nedrebo and senior management of Telenor and Ant Financials were present on the occasion.

According to the MoU, Ant Financial Services Group will invest USD 184.5m in Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB), a subsidiary of Telenor Group, to further develop TMB’s mobile payment and digital financial services.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Harvard University students met Prime Minister Abbasi. It is on an eight-day trip to Pakistan these days. The trek, organised by Adnan Afaq, MD Pakistan Credit Rating Agency, and Sobia Maqbool, an alumna of Harvard University, was designed to provide these students with an alternative view of Pakistan not typically conveyed to the international community.

Over 30 meetings and activities were arranged to showcase the diversity of Pakistani culture, politics, food, art, and geography. The students’ engagements with these many facets of Pakistan will help advance the narrative around the country when they return to Boston. In little more than a week, these students – primarily from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, but also representing the College, School of Public Health, Graduate School of Design, and Law School – will travel the length of the country, from Gilgit to Islamabad to Lahore, concluding the trip in Karachi.

Trek participants were accepted from a very competitive applicant pool of Harvard community members eager to learn more about Pakistan. By visiting the private homes of host families, exploring rural village culture, meeting with policymakers, and learning about the wonderful work of organisations like the Edhi Foundation, these students and their Pakistani counterparts promote people-to-people conversation. The meeting with the Prime Minister is a highlight of this exceptional trip.

Meanwhile Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sohail Aman paid farewell call on Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi at the PMO. The Prime Minister appreciated long meritorious services of the outgoing Air Chief rendered for the defence of the country. The Prime Minister expressed his best wishes for ACM Sohail Aman for his future life and endeavours.

Later the Prime Minister hosted lunch for the outgoing Air Chief. Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Interior Minister Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua and senior officials were present during the lunch.