Amazon Denies Plans to Shift Regional Operations from UAE to Istanbul

Amazon has rejected reports that it is relocating its regional operations from the UAE to Istanbul, following claims in Turkish media that the company had transferred a significant share of its Dubai operations to Türkiye.

“Reports suggesting Amazon is relocating regional operations from the UAE to Istanbul are inaccurate. Both the UAE and Turkey remain priority countries for Amazon, and we continue to grow our footprint and invest in both,” an Amazon spokesperson told Arabian Business.

Turkish business newspaper Ekonomim reported on Monday, citing unnamed industry sources, that Amazon had moved a substantial portion of its regional operations from Dubai to Türkiye. The claim was later reported by other Turkish media outlets. Ekonomim also said Google was considering a similar move, although Amazon’s statement addressed only reports concerning its own operations.

The reports referenced Amazon Web Services’ launch of a Local Zone in Istanbul in May. AWS said the facility was designed to bring cloud services closer to customers while supporting local data storage. The announcement did not indicate that Amazon was transferring regional management operations from the UAE to Türkiye.

AWS established a separate cloud region in the UAE in 2022 and at the time announced plans to invest more than $5 billion in the country through 2036.