Tech giant Amazon announced plans to invest more than $7 billion in Israel as it launched a new unit to run AWS cloud services in the country, building on a previous partnership with the government.

Dubbed AWS Israel (Tel Aviv) Region, the offering will allow developers, start-ups and other organisations including the government greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centres located in Israel.

Israel’s government selected AWS as its primary cloud provider in 2021 as part of a separate project to provide services to state ministries and public sector organisations.

Amazon stated the latest development means customers can securely store data in the country, while having access to lower latency to improve productivity, operational efficiency and the performance of real-time applications.

Customers will also be able to tap other AWS technologies including machine learning, AI and data analytics.

The company projected it would spend around $7.2 billion on the construction and operation of the new AWS offering, supporting more than 7,700 full-time jobs and adding approximately $13.9 billion to the country’s GDP by 2037.

Prasad Kalyanaraman, VP of infrastructure services at AWS, said the launch provides customers the ability to build the “most advanced cloud technology-based applications and achieve the highest levels of security, availability and resilience”.

He also highlighted Israel’s strategy to promote technology innovation, which had created a “thriving global hub for entrepreneurs, e-governments and multinational businesses”.