Ever hear the phrase “Data is the new oil”? The oft-repeated mantra has a whole new meaning in the country of Bahrain. The country lacks the oil reserves and resulting riches of Saudi Arabia and Iran. But through a partnership with Amazon Web Services Inc., it’s now determined to transform its economy with technology.

The Middle East’s younger generation is hungry for more technology in their lives, according to Teresa Carlson (pictured), vice president of the worldwide public sector at AWS. And with increased access to affordable technology and education, they could advance the country in a number of ways.

“We want to create a culture of builders here,” Carlson said. “And the way you do that is by putting [the tools] it into their hands.”

AWS has been working with Bahrain on transforming its telecommunications and government with cloud computing. Additionally, it just announced a cloud computing B.S. degree program in conjunction with the University of Bahrain.

Carlson spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the AWS Summit Bahrain event. They discussed the tech and digitization initiatives AWS is fostering in Bahrain (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

Cloud courses water seeds of innovation

The first phase of the university’s training program will roll out in 2020. It will be a cloud certification program offered to students in every major at the university. In the fall 2020, the university will roll out a full four-year degree program in cloud computing.

These skills are the crucial accompaniment to the AWS Cloud Region in Bahrain. Together, they will help Bahrain’s burgeoning entrepreneurs and startups bring innovation and economic growth to the nation, Carlson explained.

Banking is one area where the nation is already seeing a good deal of progress. ABC Bank has updated regulations to allow it to run its applications in the AWS Cloud, according to Carlson. Additionally, FinTech Bay is a startup accelerator supporting the creation of new financial applications.

“It’s so exciting to see this … happen in the Middle East, where I think a lot of people thought it would be a lot slower,” Carlson said. “It’s still day one for sure, but all the building blocks are getting there in the right place to really make this happen.”

Here’s the complete video interview below, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS Summit Bahrain. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the AWS Summit Bahrain event. Neither Amazon Web Services Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE