Syria's Communications Minister Discusses Data Centers and AI with Dell
Talks focused on removing barriers to the return of global technology companies to Syria.
Syrian Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdulsalam Haykal discussed ways to remove legal and procedural barriers to the return of global technology companies to Syria in Damascus on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. He met Samer Al-Jayousi, head of AI and GenAI at Dell Technologies. The talks also covered access to the companies' products, services and technical support, and cooperation on data centers and AI infrastructure. The meeting was a round of talks, and no agreement was announced.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said on its Telegram channel that Haykal outlined Syria's digital infrastructure development program, particularly the Silk Link project. According to the ministry, the project is expected to provide connectivity capacity and regional and international links to support the establishment of data centers and cloud services in Syria.
The ministry said Dell Technologies presented its solutions for equipping data centers and providing the computing and storage capacity required for AI applications. The two sides discussed how these solutions could complement the communications infrastructure being developed through Silk Link to meet the needs of government institutions and businesses.
The meeting also addressed requirements for strengthening national control over artificial intelligence, the ministry said. These include developing domestic capabilities to manage data and computing infrastructure, develop and operate AI models, and maintain control over sensitive data, in line with Syria's needs and priorities.
On Sunday, Haykal met Fares Akkad, Meta's managing director for the Middle East and Africa, to discuss steps toward restoring commercial services for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in Syria, including advertising tools and business services. Dell Technologies is a major US information technology company that provides servers, data storage systems, data center equipment, cloud computing infrastructure and AI solutions.
