ABU DHABI: US President Donald Trump on Friday capped his Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi after signing another raft of multi-billion-dollar deals, while also securing a $1.4 trillion investment pledge from the UAE.
The eye-watering amounts of money in investments were accompanied also by the lifting of decades-long sanctions on Syria and renewed optimism over an Iran nuclear deal during the multi-day trip across the Gulf.
On his first foreign tour of his second term, Trump oversaw a $200 billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets and a $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia -- including nearly $142 billion in weapons, which the White House described as the largest-ever arms deal.
“I’m just thinking we have a president of the United States doing the selling,“ Trump quipped, during a business roundtable alongside Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed.
“I think I have to be a cheerleader for our country,“ he added.
On Thursday, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed lauded the strong partnership between the two countries that grew under Trump's leadership and vowed to invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over 10 years.
The White House said the two countries had also signed business deals worth more than $200 billion, including a $60 billion partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and a $14.5 billion Etihad Airways order of Boeing planes.
“You’re an amazing country. You’re a rich country. You can have your choice, but I know you’ll never leave my side,“ Trump said after the $1.4 trillion announcement Thursday, addressing the UAE president.
“That’s your biggest investment that you’ve ever made, and we really appreciate it,“ he added saying he will treat the UAE “magnificently” and that Sheikh Mohamed was “a magnificent man, and it’s an honour to be with you”.
AI ambitions
The White House also said both countries inked an AI agreement that will see the UAE invest in US data centres and commit to “further align their national security regulations with the United States, including strong protections to prevent the diversion of US-origin technology”.
The UAE is seeking to become a leader in technology and especially artificial intelligence to help diversify its oil-reliant economy.
But these ambitions hinge on access to advanced US technologies, including AI chips under stringent export restrictions, which the UAE president's brother and spy chief Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed reportedly lobbied for during a Washington visit in March.
Earlier this week, Trump rescinded further controls on AI chips, which were imposed by his predecessor to make it harder for China to access advanced technology.
Later Friday, Trump will tour the Abrahamic Family House, a complex opened in 2023 that houses a mosque, church and the country's first official synagogue with the aim of promoting interfaith co-existence in the Muslim nation.
