Greece, Saudi Arabia Agree on Data Cable to Link Europe and Asia

Greece and Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to collaborate on 800m euro ($857m) land and subsea cable creating a data link from Italy to Singapore.

The “East to Med data Corridor,” an undersea and land data cable, will be developed by MENA HUB, owned by Saudi Arabia’s STC and Greek telecoms and satellite applications company, TTSA.

Greece’s power utility Public Power Company (PPC) and Cyprus’ telecoms operator CYTA, will also hold a stake in the project, pending final corporate approvals.

The text of the final agreement is expected to be signed by the end of July 2022, and the implementation of the project is expected to begin in early autumn. Completion of the project is estimated at about 4th quarter of 2025.

“This is a historic project that utilizes the geographical location of Greece and Saudi Arabia to create a data corridor necessary for the global economy while placing the two countries at the center of transport, storage and data creation in Eurasia,” a Greek diplomatic source was quoted as saying by AMNA.

“The sky is the limit” for Saudi Arabia, Greece relations

The agreement was struck during the Greek-Saudi Business Forum held in Athens on Monday and Tuesday.

The delegation of Saudi government officials and business representatives is led by  Investments Minister Khalid Al Faleh, who views prospects for the development of relations between Greece and Saudi Arabia as exceptional.

“The sky’s the limit,” he added in reference to the cooperation dynamic among Greek and Saudi businesses.

He also highlighted Greece’s geostrategic importance as a hub that connects Europe with the rest of the world and with the Middle East.

He expressed his belief that Greece, Saudi Arabia, and their business communities “will transform the ongoing energy transition and the current energy crisis into an immense opportunity.”

He then spoke about the relationship between the two countries in recent history, noting that it is approaching its centenary as diplomatic relations between modern Saudi Arabia and Greece date back to 1926.

Some 59 Saudi companies and seventy to eighty representatives of the business community have come to Greece, as well as about thirty people from the public sector of Saudi Arabia, he noted.

Greece and Saudi Arabia agreed to expand business collaboration

Greece and Saudi Arabia agreed to expand collaboration in investments, energy, tourism, and defense during a visit by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Riyadh in October 2021.

The Greek leader and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud highlighted the significance of the newly established Greece-Saudi Arabia Business Council, expected to fortify the collaboration of the two countries’ business communities.