Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in Hanoi on Monday morning and will announce the tech giant’s plan to increase its spending on local suppliers.

During his two-day business trip to the Southeast Asian country, Cook is expected to meet Vietnamese students, content creators, and app developers.

He will have meetings with users of Apple products to better understand how the items are employed.

The iPhone maker plans to facilitate clean water projects for local schools and expand its vocational training program for the disabled as part of its efforts to support people across its supply chain.

Apple will expand programs under its US$50-million Supplier Employee Development Fund, which was launched in March 2022 to better access to learning opportunities and skill development, after increasing its spending on suppliers in Vietnam.

The CEO said that Apple is always striving to bolster its connection with local suppliers as well as offer more benefits to local people.

Cook joined Apple in March 1998 and was named Apple CEO in 2011. Since then the tech giant has witnessed robust growth, with its sales and profits doubling in the 2011-20 period.

Apple entered the Vietnamese market around 10 years ago, offering jobs to more than 200,000 people in the country through direct employment, its supply chain, and iOS ecosystem.

Under Cook's helm, the tech giant has spent nearly VND400 trillion ($15.8 billion) in the Vietnamese market through its supply chain partners since 2019.

According to its supplier list, 25 Apple suppliers are doing business in Vietnam, such as Foxconn, Luxshare, and Goertek, in addition to 27 manufacturing facilities located in 13 Vietnamese provinces.

Apple has also partnered with clean water organization Gravity Water to install rainwater storage systems across schools in Hoa Binh Province, northern Vietnam.

With the support from Apple, Gravity Water is moving toward a target of covering 131 schools by the end of April, providing a safe and steady water source throughout the year for more than 42,000 students, teachers, and their families.

Aside from clean water, Apple also provides schools in Vietnam’s rural areas with clean energy through the Power for Impact initiative.

The tech behemoth is working with the TRE Foundation to set up solar panels in 20 schools in rural Vietnam, while supporting children's teaching programs on sustainable development and STEMs.

During his meeting with then-State President of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong in November last year, Cook said that Vietnam’s economy was growing robustly

Lots of U.S. leading electronics and tech firms have set up shop in Vietnam, which is home to highly-skilled tech employees and engineers.

The Apple leader suggested that Vietnam should upgrade sets of standards for 5G technology applications and complete its legal framework to serve the growth of the digital economy, especially issues linked to user security and safety.

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