Amazon Web Services has announced plans to open a data center design facility in Zagreb, Croatia.

The new facility will support development and operation of AWS Cloud services, with a focus on data center design, product development, and research.

The company said it will hire ‘local talent’ including electrical and mechanical engineers, civil and structural engineers, IT experts, and solutions architects.

This week also saw AWS and the Croatian Government sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help accelerate adoption of cloud computing in the public sector and contribute to the country's National Development Strategy.

“We welcome the news that AWS will be creating a new data center design facility in Zagreb and its continued investment in Croatia. The development of our nation’s digital economy is a priority for this government, and cloud computing is going to play an important role,” said Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković.

AWS vice president for public sector (EMEA), Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz added, “As part of our continued commitment to Croatia, we are pleased to announce the opening of a new data center design facility in Zagreb, creating new jobs to support the development and operations of AWS Cloud services within Croatia.”

“The Croatian Government has exciting plans for the digital transformation of the country, and AWS is proud to be playing its part. This MoU sets out a framework to work with the government and people of Croatia and to develop a cloud-ready workforce supporting the nation’s ambition for IT modernization.”

In February 2021, AWS launched an AWS Edge location in Zagreb.

In April Vertiv opened a €10 million ($11.7m) factory in the Croatian city of Rugvica to build integrated modular data centers.