Microsoft plans to invest more than US$10 billion in the Middle East by 2030. The sum covers both capital and running costs.

The investment falls under a new plan that starts with Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

It centres on adding cloud and AI capacity in a region where Microsoft has operated since 1991.

Over the same period, the company is putting more than US$400 million into subsea and land cables. More routes mean data can keep flowing if one link is cut.

On AI, Microsoft will deepen its ties with governments and national AI champions such as HUMAIN, G42 and QAI.

The work will cover sovereign-ready cloud, AI in Arabic and other languages, and AI in public services.

The company will widen its work with the Responsible AI Future Foundation. It set up the group with G42 and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence to share responsible AI practices and testing tools.

Digital resilience is another focus of the plan. Microsoft said conflict in the region has strengthened the link between digital resilience and digital sovereignty.

The company will launch a new regional programme to help firms find weak spots, protect critical data and test their recovery plans.

It will also extend its data protection and service continuity pledges. These will cover eligible governments and customers in all four countries.

Ties with national cyber agencies will grow closer too. Each country will have its own Microsoft security team.

AI skills training will continue as well, building on an existing goal to help train more than 4.2 million people by 2030.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by Microsoft via its website.