New Delhi: Tech giant Apple’s CEO Tim Cook today described India as an unparalleled country and said he liked the vibrancy of its people and has made some lifelong friends.
Speaking at the inauguration of Apple’s map development centre, Cook said he loved the informality in the city of Hyderabad. “I liked the culture and learned a lot,” he said.
Cook, who flew in from Mumbai to launch the facility, termed Hyderabad’s culture and history as “lovely”.
“We (are) honoured to be here for lifelong friendship with Telangana,” Cook said.
The Apple CEO said Apple created best products to the betterment of people’s life.
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Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao requested Cook to open Apple’s own campus in Hyderabad.
He said the state would like to be a partner in Apple’s growth story.
The minister said that Hyderabad is the best city in India in terms of infrastructure, education and ecosystem. During last 24 months, the city has attracted some big names and investment.
Earlier, state government officials had said that the facility will commence operations on one lakh square feet leased space in WaveRock, a building owned by real estate giant Tishman Speyer at Nanakramguda.
The centre will be Apple’s digital mapping facility, with servers in the US and all technical and support services sourced from Hyderabad, Telangana’s IT secretary Jayesh Ranjan had said.
However, it was not confirmed then if Apple CEO Tim Cook will be present to inaugurate the company’s first development centre in India. Sources in the government said official communication had only mentioned that a team of Apple executives would be present.
In addition, Telangana’s IT minister KT Rama Rao dropped a broad hint on Twitter, suggesting that on Thursday, a big announcement will be made, which will end the suspense. “Will share a big news with you all day after tomorrow. Suspense till then,” tweeted state IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.
