President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with Apple CEO at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, on Wednesday, 17 April 2024, discussing Apple’s strategic plans, including opportunities for the American company’s expansion in Indonesia and deeper integration into the global supply chain.
“Earlier, Mr President and I received Apple’s CEO, Mr Tim Cook, to discuss Apple’s strategic plans in Indonesia and also how Indonesia can become part of the global supply chain,” Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi told a media conference after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that Apple plans to add a fourth Apple Developer Academy as an investment in Indonesia. Currently, there are three Apple Developer Academies in Surabaya, Batam, and Tangerang.
“They announced yesterday that they will add another facility in Bali. And this is actually the fourth Apple Developer Academy facility based on an agreement between Indonesia and Apple,” the Minister of Industry said.
During the meeting, Agus said, President Jokowi also encouraged Apple to create a manufacturing plant in the country. He cited that a number of Apple device components are ready in Indonesia.
“Later from here the Ministry of Industry will carry out a business matching process. We already have a list of what components, cellphone components that have been produced in Indonesia that we might be able to merge, dubbed as business matching,” he said.
Agus said further that the Head of State invited Apple to establish an innovation center in collaboration with Indonesia’s best universities aimed for Indonesian human resources development.
“This is also one thing that Tim Cook is also very eager to follow up. A lot was also discussed about how we develop human resources or human development in Indonesia through Apple,” he said.
On the same occasion, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he was pleased with the performance of the three Apple Developer Academy in Indonesia.
“We are opening the fourth Apple Developer Academy. We just announced it yesterday, it will be in Bali. We are very happy with the performance of these three, which have produced thousands of people and are able to create applications for the Apps Store that are attractive not only domestically but also abroad. Therefore, we are very happy,” said Tim Cook.
Furthermore, Tim Cook said that his party would consider President Jokowi’s request for the construction of an Apple manufacturing plant in Indonesia. He also considered that Indonesia is an important market for Apple and has a lot of good investment potential.
“I think the investment capabilities in Indonesia are endless. I think there are many good places to invest and we are investing. We believe in this country,” he said.
