The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a high-level, private dinner on Friday, April 11th at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi in honor of visiting U.S. Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright. H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, U.A.E. Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Group CEO of ADNOC, and The Honorable Martina Strong, U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E., attended this dinner. Select U.S. and U.A.E. government and business leaders also participated in the event, including CEOs and senior executives from prominent Emirati entities Mubadala, ADIA, ADNOC, MGX, G42, XRG, Alterra, 2PointZero, Masdar, ENEC, TAQA, and Emirates Global Aluminium. Discussion topics included ongoing energy cooperation and co-investments between the United States and U.A.E., U.A.E. energy investments in the United States, and ways to meet the surging energy demand created by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI). Current U.S. policy obstacles to more streamlined U.A.E. investments in all verticals in the U.S. were also raised in the discussion.
In her welcome remarks, U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. Martina Strong highlighted the strategic significance of Secretary Wright’s visit and praised the expanded investment ties under the newly announced U.A.E. investment framework in the United States. Ambassador Strong stated that the U.S. and U.A.E. are aligned on energy and investment priorities. Ambassador Strong also reaffirmed the U.S. Embassy’s continued support for U.S. companies operating in the U.A.E. and for U.A.E. energy and technology firms interested in deepening their investment footprint in the United States.
In his opening remarks to the gathering of senior leaders, Secretary Wright noted that the U.A.E. is the first country that he has visited as the Secretary of Energy and referred to his last visit to the U.A.E. 18 years ago. He mentioned his visit to the ADNOC headquarters and to the Shah Gas Facility on the previous day, and remarked on the visionary leadership and the innovative spirit of the U.A.E. institutions that are leading the growth and development of the energy ecosystem in the U.A.E. He characterized the U.A.E. facilities as the “best in the world” in terms of innovation and strategic vision.
Secretary Wright outlined the Trump Administration’s energy agenda, emphasizing efforts to focus on the development and use of all sources of energy including to boost domestic oil and gas production. He added that his mandate is to facilitate the development of energy sources that are financially viable, noting that “the math has to add up.” He said that the Trump Administration policy to revitalize a local industrial and manufacturing ecosystem is paramount and Secretary Wright identified three key areas where the U.A.E. could collaborate with U.S. companies within the United States: development and improvement of much-needed energy infrastructure; development of new sources of energy, including new nuclear power facilities, to meet the demands of the AI revolution; and bringing back an industrial manufacturing base such as in steel and aluminum production. He lauded the U.A.E.’s recently announced $1.4 trillion investment framework over ten years in the United States, which presents significant opportunities to deepen commercial partnerships across the energy sector. He asserted that the goal of the administration is to reverse and unwind regulatory restrictions put in place over decades that hinder the development of new energy projects and to create a favorable regulatory environment for energy investment.
Secretary Wright discussed efforts to scale energy infrastructure to support the build-out of data centers in the United States. He remarked that the U.A.E.’s ambitous investment strategy presents an opportunity to co-invest in next-generation energy systems that enables AI deployment. Secretary Wright called for more nuclear energy development and investing in next-generation nuclear technologies and significant discussion on this topic ensued.
Secretary Wright fielded questions from the business leaders in attendance focused on U.S.-U.A.E. collaboration on energy research and innovation, cooperation on energy projects in the broader region, reforms to the regulatory system governing energy investments in the United States, and policy objectives of the Trump administration in the industrial and manufacturing space. In response to comments regarding U.A.E. investments in the United States in AI technology and the growing cooperation within the U.A.E. between U.S. technology giants and U.A.E. entities, Secretary Wright remarked that the Administration is committed to removing the bureaucratic hurdles that hamper such cooperation and expressed optimism regarding improvements to the processes for CFIUS and export controls approvals.
For questions about this event, please contact Matthew Gardell at mgardell@usuaebusiness.org.
