Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the iPhone manufacturer is looking to invest more in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.

Cook, on his first trip to India in seven years, opened Apple’s first retail store in the country in Mumbai on Tuesday and will launch another in Delhi on Thursday.

In a Twitter post, Apple’s head said his company was committed to investing across the country. “Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India’s future — from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we’re committed to growing and investing across the country.” Cook tweeted.

Modi said he exchanged views on diverse topics. “An absolute delight to meet you, tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India,” Modi tweeted.

Looking to replicate what China did to Apple’s business in the last 15 years, the tech giant is eyeing India’s massive market with an expanding middle class to power sales growth, and potentially make it a home base for the production of millions of Apple devices.

Cook, whose company reached a new record of nearly $6 billion in sales for the year ended March 31, met the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

Cook also met Union minister for electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and minister of state Rajeev Chandrashekar.

Officials said that during his meeting with the ministers, Cook sought continuation of policy stability and support to bring the component ecosystem to India as well as government support for skilling.

Apple is looking to train app developers in India and has set up an accelerator in Bangalore.

Officials said in his meeting with Vaishnaw, Cook has expressed satisfaction with the government’s support to the tech industry in India.Apple, which has created more than 1 lakh jobs in India in the past two years, said it plans to double that number soon.

Apple commands a small base of just 4 per cent of India’s nearly 700 million smartphone users, which is currently dominated by cheaper local brands, as well as Chinese and South Korean manufacturers.

In contrast, Apple did $74 billion in sales in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in fiscal 2022. That’s about 18 per cent of its total revenue during the period.