UAE to Invest $1.4 Trillion in the U.S. Over 10 Years
Jensen Huang Joins Conversation with UAE President
U.S. President Donald Trump visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 15 (local time) and agreed to economic cooperation and investment deals worth approximately $200 billion (about 280 trillion won), according to the White House. This visit marked the final stop of President Trump's three-nation Middle East tour, following Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and resulted in successfully attracting large-scale oil money from the UAE as well. President Trump's pragmatic diplomacy, which aims to counter China's advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors while linking Middle Eastern oil capital to U.S. technology and security cooperation, is seen as having borne fruit.
UAE to Invest $1 Trillion in the U.S.; AI Cooperation to Expand
According to AFP and AP, on the third day of his Middle East tour, President Trump visited Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, for his final stop and held talks with President Mohammed.
President Mohammed stated, "The UAE plans to invest $1.4 trillion (about 1,956 trillion won) in the United States over the next 10 years," specifying that the investments will be made in sectors such as technology, AI, and energy.
President Trump said that, including the UAE's $1.4 trillion investment, the total planned investment from the UAE in the United States has reached $10 trillion (about 13,971 trillion won), adding, "There is no doubt that the relationship between the United States and the UAE will be strengthened."
President Trump, who has maintained a good friendship with President Mohammed, remarked, "You are a great warrior, a strong and outstanding person, and one of the very few with vision." President Trump also said, "It is special to work together with the UAE on AI projects," and called Jensen Huang, CEO of the AI chip manufacturer Nvidia, who accompanied the tour, to join President Mohammed for a brief conversation.
The White House explained that the agreement also includes measures to expand AI cooperation between the two countries. In particular, a joint declaration was made to strengthen cooperation in AI technology, along with a commitment to invest in data centers in the United States.
The AI agreement also specifies measures to strengthen the UAE's security regulations and to prevent U.S. technology from being diverted to third countries. According to Reuters, this will allow the UAE to import up to 500,000 advanced AI chips annually from the U.S. semiconductor company Nvidia.
This agreement was reached by allowing the export of cutting-edge American AI semiconductors in conjunction with the UAE's large-scale AI investment. It is interpreted as the Trump administration easing AI chip export restrictions for the UAE, which were introduced during the Biden administration.
Additionally, an AI-specialized campus, including a large-scale 5GW AI data center, is planned for Abu Dhabi, UAE. This will be operated by UAE state-owned company G42 in cooperation with major U.S. IT companies. However, it is known that, in order to strengthen AI cooperation with the United States, the UAE had to reduce its use of and investment in Chinese AI equipment.
In January of this year, just before President Trump took office, the Biden administration introduced control measures that allowed sales of AI semiconductors only to allied countries and set export limits for non-allied countries, in order to block the indirect inflow of AI chips to China via third countries.
U.S. Companies Including Qualcomm and Boeing Partner with UAE; Mineral Supply Chain Cooperation Also Strengthened
During this visit, U.S. semiconductor company Qualcomm signed a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and local telecom operator e& to strengthen technological cooperation. In addition, Boeing and GE Aerospace secured a total investment of $14.5 billion from UAE's Etihad Airways for 28 Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft.
Furthermore, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the UAE's largest industrial company, plans to invest $4 billion in an aluminum smelter project in Oklahoma, which is expected to contribute to the stabilization of the U.S. critical minerals supply chain.
U.S. defense industry company RTX is also working with EGA and the Tawazun Council to promote a project to develop gallium, a rare metal whose strategic value has soared since China restricted its exports. Gallium is an essential resource for the production of gallium nitride, a key material for advanced semiconductors.
Meanwhile, U.S. energy companies ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources have agreed to work with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on oil and gas production expansion projects totaling $60 billion.
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