President of the United States Donald J. Trump visited the United Arab Emirates on 15-16 May as part of a Gulf tour that also included stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. President Trump was hosted by President of the U.A.E. and Ruler of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan at the Qasr al Watan presidential palace, where both parties participated in a series of bilateral talks as well as tours of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Abrahamic Family House.
As a result of the visit, a new “U.S.-U.A.E. AI Acceleration Partnership” and a new, comprehensive 5GW U.A.E.-U.S. AI Campus in Abu Dhabi were unveiled.
- The U.A.E.-U.S. AI campus will include a 1GW AI Datacenter and 5GW of capacity for additional AI data centers in Abu Dhabi.
- The campus builds on the new “U.S.-U.A.E. AI Acceleration Partnership”, which will deepen cooperation and collaboration between the two countries on AI and advanced technologies.
- The campus will be built by G42 and operated in partnership with several U.S. companies.
- The new campus will be home to U.S. hyperscalers and large enterprises that can leverage the capacity for regional compute.
U.S. and U.A.E. governments also announced that they will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement. Both sides hope to have the agreement completed in a month. The U.A.E. has already shared a draft of terms of reference with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
President Trump was accompanied by important members of his administration for a series of bilateral meetings and talks with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit. These include:
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
- U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent
- U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
- U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick
- U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. Martina Strong
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was accompanied by among others:
- U.A.E. Ambassador to the United States and Minister of State His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba
- Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and CEO of Mubadala His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak
- U.A.E. Minister of Investment and Group CEO of ADQ His Excellency Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi
- U.A.E. Minister of Energy and Infrastructure His Excellency Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei
President Trump announced over $200 billion in commercial deals between the United States and U.A.E. during his visit, building on a 10-year $1.4 trillion investment framework the U.A.E. previously announced for the United States.
- Etihad Airways made a $14.5 billion commitment to invest in 28 American-made Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines. This investment will fuel American manufacturing, drive exports, and support 60,000 U.S. jobs.
- Emirates Global Aluminum recommitted to its investment to develop a $4 billion primary aluminum smelter project in Oklahoma.The project will create a thousand U.S. jobs, strengthen critical mineral supply chains, and double current U.S. production capacity.
- ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources will continue to partner with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for expanded oil and natural gas production valued at $60 billion that will help lower energy costs and create hundreds of skilled jobs in both countries.
- RTX will partner with Emirates Global Aluminum and the Tawazun Council on a pioneering Gallium project that will help secure and stabilize the United States’ critical mineral supply chain. The partnership strengthens America’s supply security, supports high-tech manufacturing, and creates jobs across the U.S. critical minerals and defense industrial base.
- Qualcomm will partner with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and e& on a new Global Engineering Center in Abu Dhabi, which will advance the U.A.E.’s digital transformation while supporting U.S. research, engineering jobs and demand for American technologies.
- Holtec International and IHC Industrial Holding Company (IHC) are entering cooperation to build a fleet of Holtec’s SMR-300 small modular reactors, starting at the Palisades site in Michigan. This agreement includes a commitment of $10 billion, and an additional $20 billion for fleet projects, which will create high-skilled jobs in engineering, construction, and advanced manufacturing across the United States.
- Amazon Web Services, e&, and the U.A.E. Cybersecurity Council have launched a Sovereign Cloud Launchpad to accelerate public cloud services adoption in the U.A.E. This collaboration expands demand for U.S.–developed cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity technologies, supporting high-skilled jobs in the United States.
Today, President Trump and key members of his team concluded his visit to the U.A.E. with a U.S.-U.A.E. business roundtable at the Qasr al Watan presidential palace, hosted by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and key members of his team on the U.A.E. side. The roundtable also included CEOs from leading U.S. and U.A.E. companies.
The two sides discussed the U.A.E.’s $1.4 trillion investment framework for the U.S., and both sides briefed President Trump on the economic impact of these new deals for both countries. Attendees also discussed the newly announced “U.S.-U.A.E. AI Acceleration Partnership” as well as the 5GW U.A.E.-U.S. AI Campus in Abu Dhabi. The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council was represented at the roundtable by President Danny Sebright. Key members of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council Board of Directors participated in the meeting.
Read the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s Special Council Update for more information on President Trump’s visit to the U.A.E. and the current bilateral investment and commercial partnerships between the U.S. and U.A.E.
Read and listen to President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council Danny Sebright’s interviews with WAM, Dubai Eye, and CNBC for a comprehensive analysis on President Trump’s visit. Watch the full segment on Dubai Eye for an overview of the President’s visit.
For more detailed information on the U.S.-U.A.E. commercial relationship, please see the U.S.-U.A.E. Trade and Commercial Data section on our website or contact U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council President Danny Sebright at dsebright@usuaebusiness.org.
An update on the latest bilateral trade statistics between the U.S. and the U.A.E. can be found at the U.A.E. Embassy Washington DC’s website.
