ITS FIRST MENA DATA CENTER

Tencent Cloud has today announced the deployment of its first public cloud infrastructure in Bahrain alongside signing an MoU with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).

The new data center will also mark Tecent’s first data center in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), bolstering the Kingdom of Bahrain’s effort in developing Internet Data Centre (IDC) and support its rapid emergence as MENA region’s hub for cloud and IDC sectors.

“While the local government in Bahrain has been making significant efforts to grow the local IDC industry, Tencent Cloud is excited to collaborate with Bahrain EDB as part of our ongoing efforts to ramp up the global IDC landscape,” said Poshu Yeung, Senior Vice President, Tencent Cloud International.

“We will launch all necessary steps to set up a brand-new IDC in Bahrain to provide better coverage all over the Middle East and North African regions along the Belt and Road, fully supporting Bahrain’s ‘Cloud-First’ strategy.”

The collaboration between Tencent Cloud and the Bahrain EDB is expected to enable substantial opportunities to boost the local digital economy and empower local organizations to expedite their digital transformation journey.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will also allow Tencent Cloud to leverage on the EDB’s connectivity with local and regional stakeholders, including Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat. Additionally, Tencent Cloud will explore and set up training initiatives jointly with the local government in universities and educational institutions across the Kingdom.

“As a global leader in technology, innovation and cloud services, the EDB is very proud to be partnering with Tencent to set up their first MENA data center hub in Bahrain. We are confident that Tencent will be able to leverage on the Kingdom’s regional connectivity, local talent, and business friendly environment to expand their services and reach clients across the region,” said H.E. Khalid Humaidan, Chief Executive, Bahrain Economic Development Board.

The new Tencent Cloud data center in Bahrain is scheduled to go live by the end of 2021.

Less than a month ago, Batelco opened its 2.7MW new enterprise data center in the Kingdom of Bahrain precisely located in Hamala, a project that aligns with the Fifth Telecommunications Plan for the development of the sector and the Kingdom’s digital economy.