Irish telecom firm signs lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia

An Irish telecom company has signed a lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia as part of the Government's five-day trade mission to the Middle Eastern kingdom.

Under the deal, Dublin-based firm Vilicom will open the first 100% Irish-owned operation in Saudi Arabia, creating 40 jobs.

Announcing the move today, Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin said there would be massive opportunities for Irish businesses in a range of sectors in Saudi Arabia over the coming years.

"They intend to spend about €600bn over the next 10 years on infrastructure in all areas," he said.

"That opens up huge opportunities for Irish companies and we certainly are of the view that many Irish companies in power generation, utilities, construction, engineering, education services, mobile technology and other aspects of software can do very well."