Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Silicon Valley, and he sat down with Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday.
Modi is spending two days on the West Coast to take a closer look at what America’s red-hot tech industry is made of. He wants India to have its own Silicon Valley, hoping startups will create jobs and restart economic growth in the country.
At a townhall-style meeting at the Facebook headquarters, Modi and Zuckerberg are expected to discuss everything from cybersecurity to bringing Internet access to developing countries like India.
A live stream is available on Facebook. The event began at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PST).
Modi, who has 15.2 million Twitter followers, said social media sites like Facebook are key tool for diplomacy and connecting world leaders with citizens.
Modi’s trip to the West Coast is the first for an Indian prime minister in 33 years.
On Saturday, he visited with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and toured a Tesla facility. He even sat for a group photograph with Tesla employees of Indian origin.
Modi also met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and other top chief executives including Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Sundar Pichai of Google.
He gave a speech about Digital India, his initiative to improve technology and connectivity in his country.
“There may be still some who see the digital economy as the tool of the rich, educated and the privileged,” Modi said. “But, ask the taxi driver or the corner vendor in India what he has gained from his cell phone, and the debate gets settled.”
Ahead of Modi’s visit, Zuckerberg changed his profile picture — and created a filter for other Facebook users to do the same — to support the initiative.
