KOLKATA | NEW DELHI: Tim Cook will join a star-studded list of Silicon Valley grandees who will meet Narendra Modi on his trip to the US later this month, the first time in three decades that an Indian PM is visiting the West Coast. An Apple spokesperson confirmed that a meeting between its CEO Cook and PM Modi will take place.The Apple spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the topic of discussion between Cook and Modi. The Prime Minister ’s Office is in discussions with Apple Inc in this regard, said three people aware of the development.The prime minister will be keen to showcase initiatives such as 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' and persuade the Cupertino-based maker of iPhones and iPads to invest in manufacturing and research & development (R&D) in India. For its part, Apple has become increasingly conscious of India's importance as a market, after having initially ignored it. Among the items on Cook's wish list could be approval for the company's own stores and dilution of mandatory local sourcing norms."Apple…has also shown interest in the proposed meeting as it wants to explore R&D activities in India to begin with and also understand foreign direct investment regulations in retail so that it can explore future possibilities to set up its flagship company-owned stores," said one of the people cited above.Cook had said in 2012 that, relative to India, he saw greater potential in other markets but has since changed his mind, acknowledging rising sales in the country on analyst calls.In the past two years, iPhone sales have doubled in India, albeit on a smaller base. Cook said in an earnings call in July that they had risen 93% in the third quarter, surpassing Greater China's growth rate of 87 per cent.Cook will join high-profile CEOs such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg whom Modi will meet at Silicon Valley as he looks to drum up greater investment and intensify engagement. The prime minister is also scheduled to visit Facebook headquarters and will take part in a town hall with Zuckerberg. He will also meet Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Adobe Systems Inc President &CEO Shantanu Narayen The world's largest contract manufacturer Foxconn, which makes the iPhone and other Apple devices, has a $5-billion plan to set up factories in India. These will be used by companies such as Sony to make products in the country.R&D will be faster off the blocks than manufacturing, industry experts said. Apple is said to outsource some software development to a few vendors in India, including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. This is mostly related to back-end work on proprietary applications and the iOS operating system. Apple doesn't outsource any of its mission-critical projects to India, although this may change if the company sets up its own R&D facility in the country, experts said. Apple is accelerating the launch of its latest iPhones — the 6s and the 6s Plus — in the country. India sales may start as early as the second to third week of October, the trade has said. The Apple Watch is scheduled to be available in India by the end of this month.The company is looking to double sales in India this fiscal to Rs 8,000 crore by focussing on ecommerce and increasing its distribution in physical stores. It sold 1 million iPhones in India in the seven months ended April 30, equalling the number it sold the previous year. Apple's financial year starts September end.