On Thursday December 6^th 2023, His Excellency Waleed Al Muhairi, the Deputy Group CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, and Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic, CEO and President of Cleveland Clinic, co-chaired the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s 16th annual Board Meeting at the St. Regis Hotel Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Board Directors representing 60 key U.S. and U.A.E. companies attended this off-the-record meeting. As is custom, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E., Martina Strong, and the U.A.E. Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Yousef Al Otaiba, attended the meeting to provide perspective on the U.S.-U.A.E. relationship. Special guest speakers at the meeting included U.A.E. Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence H.E. Omar Al Olama and leadership from the U.A.E. Ministry of Economy and Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development.  Coming near to the end of COP28 in Dubai, the meeting set a highly ambitious agenda and work plan for 2024.

H.E. Al Muhairi commended the work of the Business Council and the vital role it plays in deepening the bilateral commercial and trade relationship. He noted the Business Council is vitally important and provides critical guidance to member companies as they navigate an uncertain economic climate. H.E. Al Muhairi praised the state of the U.S.-U.A.E. commercial relationship, noting that the U.A.E. continues to be the largest U.S. trading partner in the region. He also cited the U.A.E.’s investments in the United States, which support local job creation. H.E. Al Muhairi praised the U.S.-U.A.E. Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE), which seeks to invest $20 billion to produce 15 GW of clean energy within the United States, and mentioned Masdar’s key role in upcoming projects not only in the United States but in partnership with third countries. He concluded by noting that the U.S. and U.A.E. share a “common vision” and the Business Council will continue to be the premier organization acting as a catalyst for cross-border collaboration. 

Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Dr. Mihaljevic echoed H.E. Al Muhairi’s outlook on the U.S.-U.A.E. commercial relationship and focused his remarks on health care collaboration. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he observed, the global health care system has experienced inflation and worker shortages resulting in the need to reduce the cost of care and improve accessibility. Dr. Mihaljevic spoke of the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s positive impact in the U.A.E. through projects such as a new world-class cancer center, and the U.A.E.’s transformational gift toward Cleveland Clinic to support global pathogen and cancer research. He called on member companies to work towards the “art of the possible” and find ways to extend collaborations. Dr. Mihaljevic has been steadfast in supporting the Business Council and its mission expanding U.S.-U.A.E. cooperation in a host of verticals. 

His Excellency Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, Minister of State and U.A.E. Ambassador to the United States, and his counterpart, U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. Martina Strong, discussed recent developments in the bilateral relationship. Ambassador Al Otaiba remarked that COP28 has reaffirmed the dynamism and pace of developments in the U.A.E. He noted that the U.A.E. has an ambitious and dynamic economic agenda and the goals cannot be achieved without private sector engagement. He outlined that the U.A.E. is doubling down on key sectors such as food security, digital technology, healthcare, and education and said the attraction of the top talent to the U.A.E. helps fuel progress. He emphasized the importance of new partnerships with U.S. companies in 2024 to fuel this growth and emphasized that the U.A.E. will continue to reform its laws and policies and improve its business practices to set it apart in the region.

Ambassador Strong focused her remarks on the ongoing COP28 conference. She credited the leadership of H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber and the U.A.E.’s convening power and creativity. She called the U.A.E.’s level of ambition “staggering.” She noted that the U.A.E. is a future-oriented and pioneering country and that U.S. companies are eager to partner in its development journey. Ambassador Strong called COP28 a microcosm of what is happening more broadly in the U.S.-U.A.E. relationship, citing the projects emerging from PACE. She noted that the COP28 U.S. delegation of over 700 members included Vice President Kamala Harris and nearly every government agency.  

Both Ambassadors praised the work of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council and said that it was essential in helping cement ties and build new partnerships.  Both encouraged U.S. and U.A.E. companies to double down in their support of the Council’s mission and work in 2024.

H.E. Al Olama congratulated the Business Council for its over 15 years of impact and elevating the bilateral commercial relationship. He remarked that the U.A.E. is bolstering artificial intelligence (AI) development and connected this to the broader economic diversification agenda. He underscored that the United States is a global leader in AI in both development and policy formulation. He hoped that the next 15 years will solidify the U.A.E.’s move to a knowledge-based economy and feature co-development with the United States. His Excellency invited all to attend the World Government Summit in February 2024 and remarked that it will focus heavily on AI and the transformative power that AI will have for society and in all of our lives. 

Dr. AbdulRahman Al Muaini, Assistant Undersecretary at the U.A.E. Ministry of Economy, discussed the U.A.E.’s broader economic transformation and development of a knowledge-based economy. He noted that the U.A.E. has a resilient economy that overcame the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Al Muaini outlined that the U.A.E. is committed to economic diversification with a focus on sustainable development. The U.A.E. also encourages foreign direct investment (FDI) and noted that, even during the pandemic, the U.A.E. attracted high levels of FDI. Dr. Al Muaini spoke of the U.A.E. building global partnerships around innovation, including with the United States. He also mentioned that the policies and regulations required for the transition to a knowledge-based economy must reflect private sector input.   

H.E. Alia Al Mazrouei, CEO of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, focused her remarks on Abu Dhabi’s economic transformation. Abu Dhabi is seeking to develop its technology and digital ecosystem in line with its diversification strategy. She recognized the role of the U.S.-U.A.E. business relationship in helping meet this goal. H.E. Al Mazrouei highlighted the work of the Khalifa Fund, which is laying the foundation for increased innovation, entrepreneurship, and shared prosperity. She underscored that Abu Dhabi aims to foster a thriving startup scene built around innovative practices. She noted that Abu Dhabi is investing in high technology, life sciences, and AI. Finally, she mentioned that Abu Dhabi is pursuing public-private partnerships and cited the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry (SAVI) cluster as particularly noteworthy.

During Co-Vice Chair remarks, Mr. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Airline, highlighted the strong U.S.-U.A.E. commercial aviation relationship. He outlined the broad global footprint of Emirates, which includes a significant presence in the United States. At the most recent Dubai Airshow, Emirates placed a $52 billion wide-body aircraft order from Boeing, demonstrating the strength of the bilateral aviation relationship. This notably included 90 Boeing 777X.  He also spoke of opportunities in sustainable aviation fuels.

Ms. Romina Khananisho, Vice President, Government Relations, EMEAI at Honeywell, representing Business Council U.S. Co-Vice Chair Jim Carroll, outlined the three megatrends Honeywell will focus on in 2024: automation, the future of aviation, and energy transition. In the U.A.E., Honeywell is partnering with Masdar on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) production and Emirates on fleet expansions. 

During the business section of the Board Meeting, participants discussed the Council’s 2024 workplan and budget. They also voted in a new U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council Co-Vice Chair, Naim Yazbeck. Mr. Yazbeck noted Microsoft’s long-standing presence in the U.A.E. and recent partnership with new Business Council Founding member G42.  

For questions about this meeting or the Business Council’s activities, please contact David Greenhalgh at dgreenhalgh@usuaebusiness.org.