Apple CEO Tim Cook spent Monday, the first day of his two-day business trip in Vietnam, taking a stroll by the iconic Hoan Kiem Lake, trying egg coffee, and meeting Vietnamese influencers, among other activities.

After arriving in the capital city of Vietnam, he wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, “Xin chào, Vietnam!” (Hello Vietnam!) and attached a photo of him enjoying egg coffee while talking with famed Vietnamese singer My Linh and her daughter My Anh.

He showed his love of Vietnam’s coffee, writing that “I loved the egg coffee."

Singer My Linh shared his post on her Facebook page, adding that she was happy to welcome Cook to Hanoi, where she and her daughter were born.

“Welcome Mr. Cook, such a great pleasure to have you here in my hometown!” My Linh said on her Facebook account.

The Apple CEO and his companions later went for a walk to Hoan Kiem Lake, a famed icon and a popular tourist destination in Hanoi.

“Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi is as beautiful as it is iconic!” Cook wrote on X.

He strolled around the lake with Vietnamese tech reviewer Ngo Duc Duy, also known as Duy Tham, a well-known content creator on YouTube and TikTok and a big fan of iPhones.

“It was amazing to spend time with Duy and see his creative process using Cinematic mode on iPhone 15 Pro,” Cook said on X.

Duy also posted a photo of himself and Cook on his Facebook page, expressing his joy at meeting, conversing, and strolling around Hoan Kiem Lake with the esteemed entrepreneur.

On Monday, Cook also met with Vietnamese director Phuong Vu at Vu’s studio -- Antiantiart.

He wrote on X that “Phuong Vu and his team are wildly creative. They showed me how they use iPhone, iPad, and Mac to bring everything and anything from their imagination to life in Nirvana Space -- an artistic workshop like no other!”

Phuong Vu is the man behind the success of the Con Rong Chau Tien (the Descendants of the Fairy and the Dragon) video of Apple, the Hoa Xuan Ca program of Vietnamese national broadcaster Vietnam Television in the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday, and Nau an cho em (Cooking for Children) music video of famed Vietnamese rapper Den Vau.

Vu expressed his astonishment upon meeting Cook in Vietnam, finding it hard to believe that such an encounter was possible.

“Before he arrived, Apple staff told me that a senior leader of the group would come to meet me. When Tim Cook entered the studio, my team and were amazed and shocked,” Vu recalled.

After watching Vu’s artistic products, Cook was excited, saying that Vu’s products were impressive and he could see the creativity and energy of the young in the products, the Vietnamese director said.

Cook also voiced his impression about Vietnamese app developers, such as CollaNote and ELSA Speak, saying that they walked him through how they used Apple products to help customers boost productivity and learn.

Meanwhile, CEO of Bootloader Studio in Vietnam shared with Cook a new app they were working on for Vision Pro.

“All three are fantastic examples of Vietnam’s fast growing developer community!” Cook wrote on X.

Today was a busy day of the Apple leader as he also met with VietMax, a hip hop artist, a film director, and a street art icon in Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese rapper Suboi.

VietMax showed Cook how the iPhone and iPad fit into his dance and street art workflows, while Suboi shared her newest song.

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.

During his business trip in Vietnam, Apple will 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.

The iPhone maker 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.

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.

At present, 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.

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