However, the headlines were few and far between. Their individual dispositions were exemplified by the lack of chemistry between the two of them during the last session of Facebook's Fuel for India 2020 conference. In fact, it seemed like the two of them didnt know each other as well as business partners should, considering the massive amount of money Facebook has invested in Jio.
Both Ambani and Zuckerberg praised each other and asked questions that, one would suppose, would have been addressed before the investment was made. The chat between Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Ambani was a bit more free-flowing than this one. But that was also before the pandemic and they were sitting next to each other.
The entire transcript of their conversation, which lasted over 40 minutes, was around 11 pages long. We, at Business Insider India, have shrunk the tete-a-tete down to the most important things that you need to know.
Here are some of the highlights from the conversation between Ambani and Zuckerberg on December 15:
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I'm curious to hear how your company adapted to help you move forward in the midst of this pandemic.
Ambani: [Ambani spoke a lot about what the government, the Reliance Foundation and his teams had contributed to the COVID relief efforts before answering how he sees the current situation in India.] Mark, sometimes I wonder that if the pandemic had struck India just four or five years earlier, we would have not been in as good a shape as what we are today. With all the connectivity we have, and the credit for that must go to our Prime Minister's Digital India vision, where he motivated the entire industry to roll out broadband in the first five years of his first term.
[..]And, I believe, Mark, that our actions will speak louder than our words in the coming months and years time here.
So, I'm curious what role do you see technology, playing in this post COVID world? Especially as it relates to all of these small businesses that I know you share a passion with me that is just critical that we serve them.
Ambani: Absolutely, Mark. And, let me point out a very unique feature about our partnership. Perhaps, not many people have understood this, but before this partnership I believe that each one of us was mainly a communication platform.
And, let me explain this very simply, Whatsapp has hundreds of millions of subscribers in India Jio has hundreds of millions of subscribers in India. Jio Mart, which is our retail service, actually has the aspiration of serving tens of millions of small shopkeepers in India, who are the bedrock of employment.
So, what does this mean? This means Jio brings digital connectivity. WhatsApp, now with WhatsApp brings digital interactivity and the ability to move to close transactions and create value. And, Jio Mart brings the unmatched online and offline retail opportunity that gives our small shops, which exist in villages and small towns in India, a chance to digitize and be at par with anybody else in the world.
Ambani: Well, as I mentioned to you, Mark. I really see India accelerating as a premier digital society. I see us integrating 5G.
[...]And, I think that in a span of 10 years, we can set for ourselves an objective to really reskill India and the talent that you talked about can improve 10x. Today, you're just seeing the creamy layer. But, that's what technology can do to really make a better India in a better world.
[..]And, that is why I think that the next two decades are going to be historic in terms of the social and economic transformation.
As you said, now, I cant imagine going through the pandemic 10 years ago or even two decades ago when the internet was still nascent. It would have been a completely different experience. And, technology, of course, is allowing us to make sure that we can get accurate information out to people that has implications on health, education and helping serve people better.
I think it shows a lot of the promise for what's ahead and I think we've certainly fared better now than we would have if the pandemic hit us before.
Zuckerberg: [...]
I think we're working with 140 banks, or it's supported by 140 banks out of the gate. And, India's the first country in the world to do anything like this now.
So we're grateful to be able to support this kind of innovation to help to work to create more prosperity and help achieve a more Digital India. In fact, I think that a lot of other places around the world are going to be better off when they follow some of this lead that India has set in creating public goods like this.
Mark, all of us would love to know your views on how the world is changing. And, what you and Facebook are thinking about. And what you see the future as. Just give us your perspective, Mark.
Video is just a lot richer of a medium than photos. Even when my daughters took their first steps, I wanted to capture a video of that and share it, not just a photo. But I don't think video is the end of the line.
You can have holograms of digital objects that can kind of be as realistic as the physical objects that are there. Meaning in five or 10 years when we're having this conversation, it will just be a hologram version of me sitting on the couch next to you instead of having to do this over a screen. It'll feel a lot more realistic.
A big part of why I was excited to partner with you is because there are not many people around the world, who've just gone industry after industry revolutionized them and improve them, and continue to do it and have that hunger to improve the lives of so many people so I just have a deep admiration for that. SEE ALSO:Two in every three Pornhub videos are gone after a purge to remove child porn
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