In an effort to improve contact between the local government and the social media behemoth, the minister of foreign affairs, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has urged a senior Meta employee to open their company’s office in Pakistan.
The business changed the name of Facebook to Meta last year, focusing on creating the “metaverse,” a shared virtual space that it predicts will replace the mobile internet.
On the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 77th session, where he is a member of the delegation representing Pakistan, the foreign minister met Meta’s Global Affairs President Nick Clegg.
The foreign minister, talking about the opportunities available in Pakistan, said that the country has a tech-savvy young population (64% below the age of 30), high teledensity, massive digitisation of the economy, and a business-friendly regulatory regime.
“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”, the foreign minister told the social media company’s official.
Clegg said that Meta’s Pakistan team comprises 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.
In October last year, the government introduced Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2021, directing social media platforms to register themselves with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). However, it has borne no fruit so far.
Speaking about the potential in Pakistan, the foreign minister noted that the nation has a youthful, tech-savvy population (64% of whom are under 30), a high teledensity, a large economic digitalization, and a regulatory environment that is conducive to business.
The foreign minister said to the representative of the social media business, “Pakistan’s IT industry has seen tremendous development in the recent past creating new prospects for platforms like Meta to extend its operations in Pakistan.”
According to Clegg, the whole Meta Pakistan team is made up of specialists from Pakistan. He gave the foreign minister an update on the connectivity and capacity-building initiatives Meta is now running in Pakistan.
Clegg confirmed Meta’s desire to keep communicating with Pakistan to look up ways to deepen their relationship online.
In October last year, the government introduced Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2021, directing social media platforms to register themselves with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). However, it has borne no fruit so far.
