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 emergence as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's hub for the cloud and IDC sectors.
The company said the MoU signing also marks a significant milestone for Tencent Cloud as it deploys its first public cloud infrastructure in the MENA region.
The MoU between Tencent Cloud and the Bahrain EDB is set to expose opportunities to boost the local digital economy and empower local organisations to expedite their digital transformation journey.
Poshu Yeung, Senior Vice President, Tencent Cloud International said, "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.
“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 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.
“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 centre hub in Bahrain,” said H.E. Khalid Humaidan, Chief Executive, Bahrain Economic Development Board.
“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.”
The terms of the MoU include Tencent Cloud's first IDC in Bahrain and MENA. Tencent Cloud will launch a new IDC in Bahrain, which will go live by the end of 2021.
H.E. 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 their 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."
Tencent Cloud operates in 27 regions and 60 availability zones around the world.