Saudi’s AI ambitions may run through Syria

The proposed SilkLink project would add an alternative route to Europe as Saudi builds an artificial intelligence hub.

Mohammed Sergie and Matthew Martin

Nov 5, 2025, 4:17am PST

The Scoop

Saudi Arabia and Syria are in talks to build data cables connecting the kingdom to Europe, a move seen as a crucial part of Riyadh’s plan to become a global artificial intelligence hub. Syria plans to award the project this month.

Saudi Arabia’s biggest telecommunications firm is one of the short-listed bidders for Syria’s so-called SilkLink project, which would allow data to bypass the Red Sea, currently the main route for internet traffic between the Middle East, Europe, and the US, people familiar with the matter told Semafor.

The project would also provide a significant economic boost to the war-ravaged Syrian economy — and outdated domestic internet connectivity — with investments totalling as much as $500 million and recurring revenue from operating the lines, the people said.

“We are in the last stretch before choosing a partner for SilkLink,”

--- Abdulsalam Haykal, Syria’s minister of telecommunication and information technology, said in an interview.

He added that five companies had submitted proposals including Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), as well as consortiums backed by Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Omani, and UAE firms.

Haykal met his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh earlier this year to discuss the idea, the people said, and state-controlled STC was involved in the talks and could be the firm that builds and owns the data cables.