Reports indicate that the 63-year-old executive arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday (April 16).
On the following day (Wednesday, April 17), the press documented Tim Cook’s first agenda in Indonesia, which was a visit to the presidential palace for an audience with the current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. Cook and his team arrived at the palace at precisely 8.55 AM local time. He was seen wearing a black suit and a navy tie as he emerged from a Mercy vehicle with license plate B-227-MPM.
According to a statement by the current Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Budi Arie Setiadi, the purpose of Cook’s audience with Widodo was to discuss the possibility of Apple investing in Indonesia. However, when asked for specifics, he decided to remain mum.
“The details are for later,” Setiadi quipped to the press. “If I spill it now, it would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it? What’s certain is that the [investment plans in Indonesia] will involve major corporations from the United States and around the world. Wait for the surprise tomorrow [on Thursday].”
Setiadi also teased that, besides having an audience with the president, Cook’s agenda consists of opening the Apple Developer Academy, whose training grounds are already settled and opened in Bumi Serpong Damai, Surabaya, and Batam. The Bali branch, additionally, is currently under construction. According to a separate comment made by Cook to the press, the Apple Developer Academy aims to train and empower prospective digital developers for future work assignments in various sectors, namely education, e-commerce, transportation, and sustainability.
As of now, approximately 2,000 Indonesians have been enrolled in different branches of the Apple Developer Academy.
“We have frequently witnessed how a line of code can change the world,” Cook remarked to the press on Wednesday. “And, in Indonesia, we are investing in the Indonesians’ creativity and capability to prove that point. We are so happy with the flourishing digital developer community in Indonesia, and we hope we get to invest in the success made by more developers with the help of our Apple Developer Academy in this country.”