Kuwait is strengthening its digital infrastructure and resilience amid regional security concerns, Communications Minister Omar Al-Omar announced Wednesday. Speaking at the International Forum for Artificial Intelligence and Digitization in Kuwait City, the minister addressed potential threats to undersea Internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz, following warnings from Iran.
Undersea cables carry the majority of international Internet traffic connecting Gulf countries to global networks, cloud services, and regional data centers. Damage to these cables could disrupt connectivity, with the impact varying depending on the specific links affected and the ability to reroute traffic. Al-Omar emphasized that while satellite Internet can serve as a secondary option for individuals or emergency situations, it cannot replace the high data capacity provided by terrestrial and undersea cables.
“May Allah protect our country. We don’t want to assume the worst but we’re always ready for it,” Al-Omar said, underscoring Kuwait’s preparedness to respond to any disruptions.
The forum, held over two days as part of Gulf Digitization Week, is organized in cooperation with the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) and the Embassy of Japan in Kuwait. During his remarks, Al-Omar unveiled a new initiative to digitize Kuwait’s state archives in partnership with US-based Iron Mountain, a company specializing in information management services.
Iron Mountain entered the Kuwaiti market in August through a subsidiary licensed by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA). Its registered activities include document imaging, electronic preservation, data processing, web hosting, and computer facilities management. The digitization project aims to improve access to government information while ensuring security and confidentiality. It also supports Kuwait’s broader efforts toward establishing a paperless government and enhancing decision-making processes.
The announcement comes amid longstanding challenges related to Kuwait’s archival management. Research published in 2023 by Sakena Al-Alawi highlighted that Kuwait currently lacks a centralized national archive. Instead, individual ministries manage their own files without standardized classification systems or centralized oversight. This fragmentation leaves government records susceptible to loss, particularly during crises. For example, during the 1990 Iraqi invasion, looted government documents could not be fully tracked due to the absence of a central inventory. Subsequent efforts to gather and organize records were largely voluntary and proved insufficient.
By launching the digitization initiative, Kuwaiti officials hope to address these vulnerabilities and establish a more resilient and accessible archival system, bolstering both administrative efficiency and national security.