Bahrain hopes to attract heavyweight tech firms in the post-COVID era on the strength of its recent success in achieving full 5G network coverage, according to an official statement.

The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications said in a statement that the country-wide 5G network is expected to trigger a new wave of opportunities for streaming, gaming and supply chain technologies in the Gulf kingdom.

Bahrain's telecom sector attracted some 787 million Bahraini dinars in investments (more than $2 billion) between 2009 and 2019, and the Kingdom's ICT sector now accounts for nearly three per cent of Gross Domestic Product, the statement said.

Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Bahrain's Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, said the 5G roll-out is a "testament to our strength as a regional and global ICT leader".

"This includes ensuring availability and deployment of commercial 5G services and enhancing readiness for next generation ICT services such as the Internet of Things and Machine-to-Machine communications," he said.

Bahrain's ongoing national digital transformation and Economic Vision 2030 strategies have prioritised a strong ICT infrastructure.

"We are confident that our potential to generate, use, and ultimately export innovation will be pivotal for the growth and diversification of our economy towards high value-added sectors such as content development and Artificial Intelligence," the minister said.

Researchers estimate that there will be more than one billion 5G connections by 2023.

(Writing by Syed Ameen Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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