Tencent Cloud, the cloud computing branch of the Chinese conglomerate Tencent, has recently entered into a strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates’ Ras Al Khaimah Digital Asset Oasis (RAK DAO), a crypto-centric free economic zone.
This collaboration, formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on March 7, aims to foster startup growth within the region through a series of joint initiatives.
The RAK DAO, a special zone in Ras Al Khaimah dedicated to cryptocurrency enterprises and located within one of the UAE’s seven emirates, is set to benefit significantly from this agreement.
The MoU’s initial focus is on supporting startups registered with RAK DAO by leveraging mutual growth opportunities.
As part of this endeavor, a Tencent Cloud training center will be established within the RAK DAO premises to enhance skill development and provide education related to cloud services and digital economy skills.
Moreover, the agreement includes offering internship opportunities for companies and partners licensed with RAK DAO within the Tencent Cloud ecosystem.
Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, hailed the signing of the MoU as a landmark achievement for the emirate, highlighting the partnership’s potential to strengthen Ras Al Khaimah’s status as a leading technology hub.
READ MORE: Algorithmic Trading Firms Cause Outages in Major Crypto Exchanges, dydx Executive Reveals
On the other side, Dowson Tong, CEO of Tencent Cloud, emphasized the collaboration’s aim to redefine excellence in the Web3 sector and to create new avenues in the digital economy.
Free-trade zones in the UAE, such as RAK DAO, allow entrepreneurs full ownership of their businesses, operating under unique regulatory and tax frameworks distinct from the mainland laws, barring criminal law.
RAK DAO was inaugurated in 2023 as a dedicated space for virtual asset companies, focusing on Web3 technologies such as the metaverse, blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized applications (dApps), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
This partnership reflects the UAE free-trade zone’s broader strategy to integrate with the global crypto ecosystem.
In July 2023, RAK DAO further expanded its network by signing an MoU with the HBAR Foundation, aimed at supporting its community members through the adoption of the Hedera blockchain.
Read the latest crypto news today