Tim Cook to Meet With Turkish President Ahead of Istanbul Apple Store Opening [Updated]

Apple CEO Tim Cook will meet with Turkish President Abdullah Gül tomorrow at the Çankaya Presidential Compound in Ankara, according to the President's official calendar.

The visit comes as Apple is planning to open its first retail store in the heart of Istanbul's new multi-use Zorlu Center sometime in 2014. Apple is also heavily involved in the bidding for Turkey's $4.5 billion tablet initiative that will see as many as 15 million tablets given to the country's schoolchildren, and Apple executives have met with the president about the project before.

Turkish president Abdullah Gül at far left, Apple VP John Couch at far right at their meeting last year

Update: According to an official report [Google Translate] of the meeting, Cook revealed that the new Istanbul will open in April and will be unique among the company's stores. Cook and Gül also discussed the possibility of Apple bringing some research and development to Turkey, Siri support for Turkish, Apple's emphasis on education as it relates to the tablet initiative, and a request by Cook to remove luxury taxes currently applied to iPhone and iPad sales.

Thanks Mert!