Seattle, Oct 5 (IANS): Microsoft on Monday announced its first data centre region in Greece to accelerate digitisation of the public sector and businesses with access to local cloud services and skill a minimum of 100,000 people in the country in digital technologies.

The investment is part of Microsoft's ‘GR for Growth' initiative, a significant technology commitment to support the people, government and businesses of all sizes with technology and resources to create new opportunities for growth.

"A Microsoft data centre region provides a competitive advantage to our digital economy. The cloud is transforming every industry and sector. The investment in skilling 100,000 citizens will empower today and tomorrow's Greek workforce," said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece.

The Greece data centre region will join Microsoft's global footprint of cloud regions, now totaling 63 regions announced, with Microsoft Azure available in over 140 countries.

"By a substantial margin, this is the largest investment Microsoft has made in Greece in the 28 years we have been operating here," said Brad Smith, President, Microsoft.

"In addition, this large investment reflects our optimism about Greece's future, its forward-leaning government, and the country's ongoing economic recovery".