Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the headquarters of Apple in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley Friday, reports Al Arabiya.
He met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and discussed several joint projects, including app development in Saudi Arabia, as well as enriching Arabic educational content and creativity in classrooms.The meeting also discussed job opportunities to enable Saudi youth to obtain training at the company’s headquarters.
After the meeting, Prince Mohammed was given technical presentations on education, health and marketing. Prince Mohammed was accompanied by Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Khalid bin Salman and members of the crown prince’s official delegation.
Currently, Apple sell products in Saudi Arabia — which has been easing regulatory impediments for the last two years — via third parties, but they have yet to establish a direct presence there. That seems to be changing.
Reuters says licensing agreement for Apple stores with SAGIA — Saudi Arabia’s foreign investment authority — is expected soon, with an initial retail store targeted for 2019. Apple already holds second place in the Saudi mobile phone market behind Samsung, according to market researcher Euromonitor.
