NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also an ardent social media buff, on Thursday took to Facebook to post about his “very fruitful” meeting with the social networking site’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg, who had called on him, signaling his government’s positive approach to use of the online platform to connect with the people.
Earlier in the day, Modi met with US Senator John McCain, when he told him that he desired to “further deepen and expand” the strategic ties between the two nations to “a new level.”
McCain and Sandberg, who are on their visit to India, separately called on Modi in the national capital.
On his meeting with Sandberg, Modi posted on his Facebook page: “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.”
He also posted: “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.”
Modi noted in his post that “we (Indian government) intend to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary year with a special focus on cleanliness and I spoke to Ms Sandberg on how Facebook can assist us in this endeavour.”