Simon Milner, Meta’s Vice President of Public Policy for the Asia Pacific, recently joined Talha Ahad of The Centrum Media to discuss Meta’s initiatives in Pakistan, focusing on innovation, digital citizenship, and the future of the creator economy.
A key highlight of the discussion was Meta’s upcoming undersea cable project, a 45,000-km infrastructure linking Karachi to 33 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Scheduled for completion by 2025, this project aims to significantly boost Pakistan’s connectivity, improving bandwidth, reducing latency, and providing faster, more reliable access to Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Milner emphasized the transformative impact of this project, particularly for Pakistan’s content creators, as long as services are allowed to run freely in the region.
Milner also spoke about Meta’s commitment to AI development in Pakistan through the Llama AI initiative. Pakistan is one of the first countries to benefit from this initiative, which empowers local developers and fosters technological advancements. A recent AI competition, held in collaboration with NITB, Ignite, and the Ministry of IT, showcased innovative solutions like literacy tools and AI systems to address court backlogs. The winning team will represent Pakistan in Singapore, competing for a $100,000 grant.
In addition to AI innovation, Meta is working with the Pakistani government to explore the economic potential of AI and improve digital safety, especially for the youth. Milner praised the government’s proactive approach, noting the enthusiasm of Minister Shaza regarding AI’s potential to create job opportunities and streamline economic processes.
Milner also discussed the long-awaited monetization feature for Pakistani creators. While legal and banking challenges have delayed the rollout, he assured that Meta is making progress toward enabling content creators in Pakistan to earn revenue from their digital content. This development, he said, will soon unlock new revenue streams for the country’s growing creator economy.