The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council held a virtual conversation with U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. the Honorable Martina Strong and U.A.E. Ambassador to the United States H.E. Yousef Al Otaiba on Tuesday, May 20th about President Trump’s visit to the United Arab Emirates on 15-16 May. Ambassador Strong and H.E. Ambassador Al Otaiba offered perspective and commentary on several U.S.-U.A.E. bilateral partnership announcements including a new U.S.-U.A.E. AI Acceleration Partnership, a 5GW U.A.E.-U.S. AI Campus, a Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish a comprehensive U.S.-U.A.E. Major Defense Partnership, and the over $200 billion in commercial deals between the United States and the U.A.E. announced during President Trump’s visit. Both Ambassadors highlighted the momentum that has been created in the bilateral relationship and the pace and scale of the work to be done in the months ahead.

U.S.-U.A.E. AI Acceleration Partnership

• U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Ludnick and H.E. Khaldoon Al Mubarak signed an AI cooperation document intended to manage GPU exports, security, and access to technology.
• This agreement is indicative of both the United States’ and the U.A.E.’s alignment towards building out AI globally and creating the global gold standard for cooperation.
• Ambassador Al Otaiba commented that “the U.A.E. is all in with regard to the view that the United States will win the AI technology race, but believes the United States cannot win the race without close partners.” He said, “the U.A.E. intends to be a key partner to the United States in this regard.”

5GW U.A.E.-U.S. AI Campus 

• 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 will be built by G42 and operated in partnership with several U.S. companies.
• The new campus will be an AI cluster that brings together energy, research, data centers, and semiconductors and will help the United States’ the U.A.E.’s partners in the global south.

Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish a comprehensive U.S.-U.A.E. Major Defense Partnership

• This LOI is the first step in establishing the ways in which the U.A.E. will utilize their Major Defense Partnership recognition moving forward and will help to advance this partnership towards a more structured 10-year framework.
• Aspects of this agreement include procurement, military exercises, co-production, co-development, and co-research.
• The Texas National Guard Bureau will partner with the U.A.E. under the State Partnership Program.
• Ambassador Strong highlighted the importance of the work done in this area and said, “the agreements will guide our work in the defense and security space between the United States and the U.A.E. for the next 10 years.”

CFIUS

• CFIUS will be reformed in order to attract the types of investment that the Trump administration desires.
• The U.S. Department of the Treasury is in the midst of a CFIUS reform with their “Preferred Investor Track” designation that will create positive momentum for continued U.A.E. investments into the United States by established investors such as ADIA, ADQ, and Mubadala.

Free Trade Agreement

• U.S. and U.A.E. governments announced that they will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement, a draft of which the U.A.E. has already shared with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

Looking Ahead

• The U.A.E. will continue to operationalize its investment vision in the United States while looking for true partnerships that also involve activities in the U.A.E.
• It is important to continue to bring U.S. governors and mayors to the U.A.E. to showcase what the U.A.E. has to offer, particularly as a jumping off platform for SMEs and businesses to reach new global markets.
• The U.A.E. urges business and private sector representatives to connect with members of U.S. Congress and educate them on the importance and value of the U.S.-U.A.E. bilateral partnership to both countries.

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 whilesupporting 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.

Read the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s President Donald J. Trump Concludes Visit to the U.A.E. for more information about what transpired and 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 onDubai 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.