ROME, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft has announced plans to invest 4.3 billion euros (4.74 billion U.S. dollars) in Italy to develop infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based data centers.

The announcement on Wednesday night came after a meeting in Rome between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and visiting Microsoft President Brad Smith.

This investment, the largest ever for Microsoft in Italy, is expected to enhance the country's position as a digital hub in the Mediterranean. It dovetails with Italy's priorities to capitalize on the benefits of AI technologies during its presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

According to Italian media reports, last week at the United Nations General Assembly held in New York, Meloni held individual meetings with the leaders of other major tech giants, including those from Alphabet (Google's parent company) and Open AI.

Microsoft said in its statement that the new data centers will be based in northern Italy's Milan, aiming to serve the entire Mediterranean region and North Africa markets. Once operational, they will rank among the largest Microsoft data centers in Europe.

The plan also includes a training program to help improve the "AI fluency" of up to 1 million Italian residents by the end of next year. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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