The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a breakfast in honor of a visiting U.S. Congressional Delegation (CODEL) on April 23rd in Abu Dhabi. U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) led the delegation, which included Representative Mike Flood (R-NE), Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN), Representative Wiley Nickel (D-NC), Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI). U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. Martina Strong offered opening remarks outlining the CODELs productive round of meetings with U.A.E. government and private sector leaders. Chairman McHenry shared the delegation’s positive impressions of the U.S.-U.A.E. relationship based on the delegation’s engagements so far and encouraged member companies in attendance to provide feedback on how U.S. policymakers can facilitate further U.S.-U.A.E. trade and investment. U.S. business executives representing various business verticals shared their perspectives on the bilateral trade and commercial relationship and significant new developments in U.S.-U.A.E. collaboration in the technology, healthcare, defense, and financial sectors.
U.S. technology companies briefed the CODEL on the U.A.E’s fast-growing digital ecosystem and the opportunities it offers for U.S. business. They underscored that recent U.S.-U.A.E. technology partnerships were possible due to close collaboration between the U.S .and U.A.E. governments and encouraged further dialogue between the two countries on regulatory and policy matters. They highlighted that the bilateral technology relationship was built around innovation and global best practices, and the integration of cutting-edge technology. Member companies discussed significant recent partnerships including Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42 and the opportunities it provides for bilateral cooperation in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Companies noted the tremendous impact of these partnerships on jobs, training, and overall innovation in the U.A.E. as well as in the United States.
U.S. healthcare companies noted longstanding and new partnerships in healthcare innovation that are transforming the U.A.E. into a regional hub for healthcare, particularly in precision medicine and genomics. Healthcare companies and those in the financial services sector highlighted the need for greater cooperation between the two governments to share best practices in the development and implementation of data policies.
Banking and private equity firms outlined the current trends shaping the financial sector in the U.A.E. U.S. banks highlighted the positive impact the U.A.E.’s removal from the FATF grey list has had on operations and compliance. They also highlighted the U.A.E.’s focus on financial technology and virtual assets as areas of innovation that offer further opportunities for collaboration.
Various members cited complex U.S. licensing and export control requirements, as well as the opaque CFIUS oversight process, as ongoing hurdles to collaboration in light of the U.A.E.’s increased focus on building local capacity and technology transfer. U.S. defense firms described the longstanding strategic defense relationship and U.S.-U.A.E. security partnership from an industry perspective. They mentioned local capacity building and training programs as key components of their long-term strategy in the U.A.E. U.S. defense companies underscored the importance of continued close security cooperation moving forward in light of regional tensions.
Importantly, several members recommended that the U.S. government specifically focus policies towards enabling small and medium-sized business to explore the U.A.E. market, citing the tremendous opportunities that the U.S.-U.A.E. commercial relationship offers to U.S. innovative startups and entrepreneurs.
For questions about this event, please contact Amira Siddiqi at asiddiqi@usuaebusiness.org.
