Meeting with PM: Telecom operator cherishes investment in Pakistan

Premier says govt aims to develop knowledge-based economy

ISLAMABAD: The government is committed to transparency and facilitating investors to enable them to take advantage of the massive potential in the country, reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday.

The prime minister was meeting with Telenor Group President and CEO Sigve Brekke who called on him at the PM Office. Imran appreciated Telenor Group’s contribution in the telecom sector and shared that the government aimed to develop a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Brekke shared Telenor’s experience of investment in Pakistan terming it ‘very satisfactory’ and thanked the government of Pakistan for its continued support for the telecom sector and for encouraging foreign direct investments into the country.

“Telenor Group has been operating in Pakistan since 2005 and has made significant impact on the socio-economic uplift of the country,” he remarked. “The group has invested over $3.5 billion and created more than 5,000 direct jobs in addition to hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs.”

The CEO further informed the prime minister about future plans of Telenor, which included scaling up of financial services, connecting farmers to the digital world and extending its services in healthcare and digital entrepreneurship.

Through these initiatives; employing ICT (information and communications technology) solutions, Telenor aimed to serve Pakistanis even better with all the learning they have gathered during the past 13 years, Brekke added. The official informed the prime minister of incoming investment of $140 million as a result of the recently announced partnership with Ant Financial.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2018.

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