Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr. Aisha Ghous Pasha held a meeting with Jorgen C. Arentz Rostrup, EVP and Head of Asia, Telenor Group at the Finance Division on Thursday.
Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan and senior officers also participated in the meeting.
The Telenor team briefed the minister about the vision and mission of their telecommunication business. It was shared that Telenor has a huge role to play in Pakistan’s next phase of digital growth and harnessing new opportunities in the telecommunication sector.
Rostrup said that Telenor is proud to serve the people of Pakistan and be part of its digital journey. Connectivity is an enabler of economic activity and will be an important driver of Pakistan’s next phase of digital growth. Therefore, it is integral to ensure a conducive business environment for bringing tremendous progress to the country and building a resilient digital economy. However, Telenor is facing various operational issues relating to spectrum range and taxation rate, he added.
The minister welcomed the Telenor team and appreciated their efforts in the provision of quality services in Pakistan and contributing to the revenue of the country. It was also shared that government is in the transitory stage but tough decisions are in pipeline for reducing the economic bottlenecks and for ensuring stability in the economic growth. This stability would bring in greater benefits for businesses as well as the masses of the country.
The minister acknowledged and commended the role of the telecommunication sector in the growth of the digital economy of Pakistan. Also, she assured the team that the maximum possible support will be provided by the government for the expansion of the telecommunication sector in the country.
Meeting with PTA
Executive Vice President and Head of Asia, Telenor Group, Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup, and CEO Telenor Pakistan, Irfan Wahab Khan also visited Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) where Chairman PTA, Maj Gen (Retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa met with the delegation.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the plans of Telenor Pakistan for enhancing connectivity, introducing new technologies, and improving digital infrastructure.
“There was an agreement on continued mutual collaboration in new opportunities pertaining to realizing the vision of Digital Pakistan,” said the official statement from PTA.
It seems that Irfan Wahab himself uses another network SIM. If he did, he would have known how bad the Telenor network has been for the last few months.