UAE officials' US visit: Strengthening AI, energy, and economic partnerships

Tahnoun bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, met with Trump administration officials and business leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss artificial intelligence, economic cooperation, and investment partnerships.

During the visit, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Al Jaber and UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba also met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance. According to a post on X by the UAE Embassy in the U.S., the discussions focused on deepening collaboration between the two countries in energy investment, technological leadership, and economic growth.

Al Otaiba emphasized the UAE’s commitment to expanding its investments in the U.S. and strengthening technology partnerships in AI, advanced technology, energy, infrastructure, and life sciences. “The U.S. remains our key partner in these and other areas,” the embassy’s post on X stated. “We have ambitious plans to do even more in and with the U.S.”

Tahnoun’s visit follows recent remarks by Sultan Al Jaber, who described the U.S. as a crucial business partner due to its energy and infrastructure access.

Al Jaber, who also serves as managing director of ADNOC and executive chairman of XRG, highlighted opportunities for further U.S.-UAE investment in AI and energy. At the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, he noted the UAE’s commitment to strengthening ties across the “energy-AI nexus.” ADNOC recently moved its U.S. investments to XRG, including a stake in ExxonMobil’s hydrogen plant in Texas and the NextDecade Rio Grande LNG export center.

Tahnoun has been actively engaging with global tech leaders in recent months. In September 2024, he met with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Last summer, he also met with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in Seattle.

Since Trump's return to office, the UAE has made two major investment commitments in the U.S. Damac Properties pledged up to $20 billion to develop data centers, while UAE-based tech firm MGX joined BlackRock, Microsoft, and Global Infrastructure Partners as initial investors in Stargate, an AI joint venture in Texas. Stargate's funding, which started at $100 billion, is set to expand to $500 billion over the next four years to develop AI infrastructure.

The UAE has also been a recipient of U.S. AI investments. Microsoft’s partnership with UAE-based AI and cloud firm G42, announced last April, included a $1.5 billion investment and the launch of two AI centers in Abu Dhabi.

However, in the final days of the Biden administration, new restrictions placed the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and India in a secondary tier for acquiring advanced AI chips, limiting access to high-performance semiconductors. Companies like Nvidia and Microsoft have pushed back against these restrictions, urging the Trump administration to reverse them.