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Sources said that Cook, who is visiting India nearly after seven years, met Mukesh Ambani and his son Akash Ambani at their residence, Antilla, on Monday afternoon.
Apple has strategic partnerships with Reliance Jio<\/a> and Reliance Retail<\/a> to sell its products in India.
Cook is expected to meet top policymakers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. He may also meet the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. During his meeting with policymakers, Cook is expected to apprise them of the company’s plans to deepen iPhone<\/a> manufacturing in India.
Cook will inaugurate Apple stores in Mumbai and Delhi this week. The Mumbai store, called Apple BKC<\/a>, will open on April 18 at the Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai, while the Delhi store, called Apple Saket, will open on April 20.
Cook, in a statement, has said Apple was “excited” to be building on its over 25-year history in India, where the company is opening its first two retail stores this week, underlining the smartphone major’s growing focus on the South Asian nation.
“At Apple, our mission is to enrich lives and empower people around the world,” Cook said in a statement on Sunday. “India has such a beautiful culture and an incredible energy, and we’re excited to build on our long-standing history — supporting our customers, investing in local communities, and working together to build a better future with innovations that serve humanity.”
In the year to March, Apple assembled smartphones worth $7 billion, or around 7% of its iPhones, in India. It exported devices<\/a> worth over $5 billion, or roughly 5% of its total global exports. In 2021, the company assembled 1% of its smartphones in the country while India’s export share was under 1%, according to industry data, underlining its domestic manufacturing expansion.
2022 was the best year for Apple in India, with iPhone shipments growing 11% on-year, which helped corner its highest-ever volume share of 5.5%, said market tracker Cybermedia Research.