Tencent Cloud , the cloud business of Tencent , has announced its collaboration with the Bahrain Economic Development Board ( EDB ) – the Kingdom of Bahrain ’ s Investment promotion agency . The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ), with the aim to drive the Kingdom of Bahrain ’ s Internet Data Centre ( IDC ) development and support its rapid emergence as the Middle East and North Africa ( MENA ) region ’ s hub for the cloud and IDC sectors . The MoU signing also marks a significant milestone for Tencent Cloud as it deploys its first public cloud infrastructure in the MENA region . According to research by MarketsandMarkets , the Middle East ’ s cloud market is expected to reach US $ 4.5 billion by 2024 , with a CAGR of 17.5 % over the same period , highlighting the growing opportunity in this region .
The MoU between Tencent Cloud and the Bahrain EDB will allow for substantial opportunities to boost the local digital
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economy , empowering local organisations to expedite its Digital Transformation journey . It will also allow Tencent Cloud to leverage on Bahrain ’ s regional position and the EDB ’ s connectivity with local and regional stakeholders , including Bahrain ’ s sovereign wealth fund , Mumtalakat .
The terms of the MoU include :
• Tencent Cloud ’ s first IDC in Bahrain and MENA : Tencent Cloud will launch a brand-new IDC in Bahrain , which will go live by the end of 2021 .
• Promoting the deployment of Tencent Cloud : Bahrain EDB , together with public and private stakeholders will encourage the continued adoption of cloud services to further the Digital Transformation agenda . Additionally , support will be offered to partner companies to leverage cloud services in collaboration with local stakeholders such as Tamkeen .
• Local talent development : Tencent Cloud will explore and set up
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training initiatives jointly with the local government in universities and educational institutions across the Kingdom to allow for further knowledge transfer and qualified digital technology talents .
HE Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed , Bahrain ’ s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications , said : “ This is an important milestone in Bahrain ’ s journey to become the MENA region ’ s cloud and data centre hub , and I commend the EDB for its ceaseless efforts in developing the partnership with Tencent and ensuring that Bahrain is a favoured destination for investment . Tencent joins leading global cloud giants in setting up in Bahrain which will drive massive growth in data traffic towards MENA . Moreover , the launch of the new data centre stands to create a clustering effect as other global providers turn their attention to the increasingly attractive region , with Bahrain positioned as the destination of choice with proactive initiatives such as the government ’ s ‘ cloud-first ’ policy and nationwide 5G .” ◊
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