Oracle Corp. today revealed it’s planning to invest $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia over the next few years as it strives to build out its cloud data center infrastructure in the country, including a third public cloud region in Riyadh, the capital.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. today also committed to making additional investments in Saudi Arabia. The company didn’t disclose how much it plans to spend, but Reuters reported that its investment would total $2.1 billion over the next few years.

Increased demand for cloud computing resources has prompted technology giants such as Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services Inc. and Google LLC to spend billions of dollars establishing data centers at strategic locations across the world. By building their cloud infrastructure closer to the geographic location of major customers, they can offer them faster data transfer times and superior services.

Saudi’s government has long pushed for international firms to invest in the kingdom and move their regional headquarters into Riyadh, enticing them with the prospect of more lucrative government contracts.

“Oracle’s investment will rapidly accelerate the cloud transformation across Saudi Arabia’s business and public sector,” said Richard Smith, Oracle’s executive vice president of technology for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Oracle Cloud delivers pioneering innovation in technologies like AI, machine learning, and IoT, and it will help fuel the economic growth and digital transformation that is an integral part of the Saudi Vision 2030.”

Vision 2030 is an economic transformation plan led by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that aims to lessen the country’s dependence on oil, and technology is a big focus of that initiative.

Oracle said its $1.5 billion investment will stretch over several years, without providing exact details. The company also plans to expand the capacity of an existing cloud region in Jeddah, Saudi’s second largest city, which opened in 2020.

Microsoft’s plans also call for a new cloud data center region in Saudi Arabia, though it didn’t reveal the exact location. It promised that the new region will offer enterprise-grade reliability and performance and meet the country’s standards for customer privacy, data residency and high-speed latency.

“From empowering organizations to digitally transform and co-innovate, to creating economic impact and transforming industries, we look forward to continuing to enable these transformational journeys,” said Samer Abu-Ltaif, president of Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The announcements from Oracle and Microsoft came as representatives from dozens of global tech companies gathered for a major conference in Riyadh. At the event, Saudi Arabian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha announced more than $9 billion worth of investments in the country by technology firms.

Besides Oracle and Microsoft, China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. said it will invest $400 million to build up its cloud infrastructure in the region. It also announced a cloud partnership with Saudi oil giant Aramco Corp. In addition, Alswaha announced a further $4.5 billion worth of investments from smaller technology firms represented at the forum. “The investments will enhance the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa,” he said.

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