Qatar approves setting up global data centre for Microsoft

Bill Gates (L), Microsoft founder and co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (R) and Khalifa bin Jassim al-Kuwari, the Director General of the Qatar Development Fund, give a press conference after a signing ceremony on April 13, 2016 in Doha.(Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)

The Qatari cabinet yesterday approved plans to set up a global data centre for Microsoft’s cloud platform Azure and took measures to draft a law to create a Media City.

The cabinet said in a statement that the Media City will have an independent budget and its borders and coordinates will be determined by the Council of Ministers.

The Media City aims to manage and develop media activity and attract international media and technology companies as well as research and training institutions in the fields of media and digital media.

South Africa’s Cape Town and Johannesburg were also among Abu Dhabi and Dubai as newly announced Middle Eastern and African regions that Microsoft have secured. Azure has 54 regions worldwide and is available in 140 countries.

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