Amazon Web Services to Launch Infrastructure Region in Saudi Arabia 

The new AWS Region will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations, greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centers located in the Kingdom. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The new AWS Region will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations, greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centers located in the Kingdom. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Amazon Web Services to Launch Infrastructure Region in Saudi Arabia 

The new AWS Region will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations, greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centers located in the Kingdom. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The new AWS Region will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations, greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centers located in the Kingdom. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, announced on Monday that it will launch an AWS infrastructure Region in Saudi Arabia in 2026.

The new AWS Region will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations, greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centers located in the Kingdom, ensuring that customers who want to keep their content in-country can do so.

As part of its long-term commitment, AWS is planning to invest more than $5.3 billion (approx. 19.88 billion Saudi riyal) in Saudi Arabia, said a statement by Amazon.

“Today’s announcement supports Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation with the highest levels of security and resilience available on AWS cloud infrastructure, helping serve fast-growing demand for cloud services across the Middle East,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS.

“The new AWS Region will enable organizations to unlock the full potential of the cloud and build with AWS technologies like compute, storage, databases, analytics, and artificial intelligence, transforming the way businesses and institutions serve their customers,” he added.

“We look forward to helping Saudi Arabian institutions, startups, and enterprises deliver cloud-powered applications to accelerate growth, productivity, and innovation and spur job creation, skills training, and educational opportunities.”

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Engineer Abdullah Alswaha said: “The partnership with AWS and their announcement of an AWS Region, backed by a $5.3 billion investment, ignites a new era of technological excellence and innovation for the Kingdom.”

“This cloud Region demonstrates a firm commitment to research, innovation, and empowering entrepreneurs to achieve prosperity for our region and the world,” he stressed.

To support the growth in cloud adoption across Saudi Arabia, AWS will continue to scale its training programs and help accelerate the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of empowering women to increase participation in the workforce.

To help support this goal, AWS is launching a new upskilling program, “AWS Saudi Arabia Women’s Skills Initiative,” in partnership with Skillsoft Global Knowledge.

AWS will train up to 4,000 women on AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials, at no charge, through classroom trainings with AWS-certified professionals. This initiative is designed to help women jumpstart a career in cloud computing.

In addition, AWS will continue to invest in upskilling students, local developers and technical professionals, nontechnical professionals, and the next generation of IT leaders in Saudi Arabia through offerings such as AWS Academy, AWS Educate, AWS re/Start, and AWS Skill Builder.



Berlin Eyes Partnership with Riyadh in Expo 2030, Climate Cooperation, Hydrogen Initiatives

Saudi and German flags fluttering - File Photo/Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi and German flags fluttering - File Photo/Asharq Al-Awsat
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Berlin Eyes Partnership with Riyadh in Expo 2030, Climate Cooperation, Hydrogen Initiatives

Saudi and German flags fluttering - File Photo/Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi and German flags fluttering - File Photo/Asharq Al-Awsat

A senior German official affirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Saudi Arabia across various fields, noting that bilateral trade relations continue to grow steadily, with trade volume reaching around 7 billion Euros.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, German Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Kindsgrab said: “The sectors driving this growth—chemicals, machinery, and transport—reflect the strong industrial connections we share. These are areas where German expertise is making a real difference in Saudi Arabia’s development.”

He added: “Looking ahead, there is much to be excited about. Expo 2030 is an incredible opportunity for us to further deepen our collaboration, showcase the best of what both Saudi Arabia and Germany have to offer, and inspire future generations to continue building on this remarkable partnership.”

German Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Kindsgrab - Asharq Al-Awsat

Renewable Energy

On climate cooperation, the official said: “As for climate cooperation, we have just launched a relevant study on the Saudi labor market in the renewable energy sector, which was reviewed by the National Labor Observatory and discussed with experts of KAPSARC, KaCare and PSU. This is a great example of our close and meaningful partnership, tackling the challenges of today with an eye on the future.”

Blossoming Relations

Kindsgrab noted that Saudi-German relations are truly blossoming, saying: "I am proud to see our partnership becoming deeper and stronger across so many areas. From a personal perspective, it is inspiring to witness the growing bonds between our two countries. These ties span a wide range of sectors, including energy, transport, architecture, health, education and culture—creating a solid foundation for the future.”

“One of the most exciting aspects of our cooperation is in the area of energy transition. German innovation is at the heart of NEOM’s green hydrogen projects, with Thyssenkrupp Nucera playing a key technological role in making the vision of decarbonization of industry a reality,” he affirmed.

“Beyond energy, we’re also seeing significant progress in transport, where Siemens’ delivery of metro wagons helped to shape the modern infrastructure of Saudi cities. And let’s not forget the impact of German architecture in megaprojects such as King Salman Park or the design of Expo 2030, which I believe will be a landmark event for both our countries, ” added Kindsgrab.

“In the health sector, the collaboration with Charité in Berlin is another example of how our nations are working together to improve lives.”

Accelerated Cultural Cooperation

“And now, I am particularly excited to see the acceleration of cultural cooperation, such as the recently launched museum initiative between the Saudi Museums Commission and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation of Germany,” the German ambassador stressed.

“This cooperation emerged as part of our shared efforts to strengthen people-to-people ties and will play an enriching role for the cultural relations, as it includes a loan program for artworks, joint curatorship and training programs to support talent development,” he concluded.