The United Arab Emirates has quickly become one of the leading tech and innovation hubs in the Middle East. Fueled by the goal of making the U.A.E. into a global leader in advanced technology, leaders in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have taken meaningful steps to foster a knowledge-based, technology-driven economy of the future.
Among these measures, the U.A.E. appointed a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and a Chief AI Officer within each government ministry to strategically incorporate AI across the country’s government and economy. The U.A.E. also created a number of other far-sighted institutions – such as Digital Dubai, the Department of Government Enablement, and the Advanced Technology Research Council – designed to harness the capabilities of new technologies.
Within this environment, prominent U.S. companies—including Amazon, AMD, Cisco, Google, HPE, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle—are collaborating with Emirati public and private sector stakeholders like G42 on initiatives designed to accelerate innovation and the adoption of AI, blockchain, robotics, cloud computing, and digitization across the U.A.E. Additionally, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Mubadala, and Dubai Future Foundation are supporting tech startups operating in the U.A.E. by providing access to capital, workspace, and mentorship.
The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council has played an active role in promoting partnerships between the U.S. and the U.A.E. in the technology sector. The Council has led two delegations of high-level U.S. executives on Department of Commerce-certified tech missions to the U.A.E. The Council has also convened meaningful discussions for U.S. industry representatives with the U.A.E. Minister of State for AI, the U.A.E. Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, the CEO of MGX, executives from G42, and the U.A.E.’s Chief AI Officers.
Through its events and policy work, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council has supported the U.S.-U.A.E. AI Acceleration Partnership and the 5 GW bilateral data center project, “Stargate U.A.E.” At the same time, it has supported U.A.E. investments in the U.S. tech sector, as part of the U.A.E.’s commitment in 2025 to invest $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over 10 years.
The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council has highlighted U.S.-U.A.E. collaboration in tech through a special series of reports covering Artificial Intelligence. Importantly, the Business Council is an active supporter of robust discussion surrounding data localization and privacy issues as well as exports of U.S. GPUs to the U.A.E.
As the U.S.-U.A.E. Advanced Technology Partnership continues to introduce new opportunities for collaboration, the Business Council looks forward to supporting member companies by providing access to decision-makers and promoting continued dialogue.
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