The CEO and founder of the International Data Center Authority, Mehdi Paryavi, said that Saudi Arabia is leading the regional scene in data center investments, with global expansion in this field, at a time when artificial intelligence has become the main driver of major economies.

Paryavi stressed in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that energy abundance, Vision 2030, the size of the economy, political and economic stability, and the strategic geographic location give the Kingdom a competitive advantage in attracting digital investments. He pointed out that competition to attract data center investments is accelerating in the region, but Saudi Arabia has the best mix of resources and supportive policies to attract giant projects related to artificial intelligence.

This comes at a time when the Global Energy Report for 2026 shows that the Middle East consumes only 0.5 percent of electricity in data centers, compared to about 2 percent globally, leaving wide room for growth in this sector, and placing Saudi Arabia in an advanced position to lead this digital transformation.

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