Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg Met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today
Almost at the same time on Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Facebook Chief Operating officer
Sheryl Sandberg posted pictures of their meeting on their respective timelines on Facebook.
Mr Modi's post had been liked by more than 25,000 people and shared by more than a 1000 within an hour. He also posted, "Had a very fruitful meeting with Sheryl Sandberg. She pointed out that India is a very important country for Facebook, considering the high number of active Facebook users in India."
"Being an avid user of social media myself, I talked about ways through which a platform such as Facebook can be used for governance and better interaction between the people and governments. I also talked about how Facebook can be used to bring more tourists to India," the Prime Minister said.
Mr Modi said he spoke to Ms Sandberg on how the social networking giant she heads can assist his government in commemorating the year of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary with a special focus on cleanliness.
"Meeting Prime Minister Modi gave me the opportunity to express my personal appreciation to him for making the education of girls and women a priority as equal opportunity is essential for strengthening all economies and creating a just world," wrote Ms Sandberg on her Facebook page.
Reuters reports that Mr Modi has put Facebook and Twitter, the micro-blogging site, at the centre of his government's media and research strategies since taking office a month ago and has asked ministers and lawmakers to follow suit. (
PM Narendra Modi Draws Twitter, Facebook Deeper into Government)It quoted Raheel Khursheed, head of news, politics and government at Twitter India as saying that his company has been given direct access to ministers and their staff, advising them on social media usage, as well as organising workshops to train ambassadors and other diplomats. Mr Khursheed described the level of interaction between the company and the new government as "unmatched" globally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the second most popular politician on Facebook, with over 18 million friends. Ms Sandberg had pointed this out in an exclusive interview with NDTV yesterday, sharing that she is very excited to see how Indian politicians are now understanding the importance of social media. (
Facebook COO on Her Favourite Post by PM Modi)"The (Facebook) post with the picture of Prime Minister Modi seeking his mother's blessings is incredible and my personal favourite," she said. (
Watch full interview)