Vodafone eyes Middle East expansion with Zain deal

In a move to capitalise on the growing opportunity in the Middle East, operator groups Zain and Vodafone have announced a partnership to enhance each other’s footprint in the region.

The firms aim to satisfy growing demand among multinational businesses for communications solutions, as well as improve roaming services for consumers across the region.

Vodafone will work with Zain’s subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, which will complement Vodafone’s own regional operations in Egypt and Qatar. The deal increases the number of countries in which Vodafone has partner market agreements to more than 50.

Vodafone said that its Vodafone Global Enterprise multinational customers will benefit by being able to add Zain’s countries to their existing contracts for international managed services, while continuing to be serviced via a single point of contact. Zain’s customers will similarly benefit from Vodafone’s footprint.

“By combining the geographical reach of our companies’ respective networks, we can strengthen and deepen the benefits to our customers operating in these large and dynamic markets,” said Ravinder Takkar, CEO, Vodafone Partner Markets.