U.S. President Donald Trump and UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced deals worth $200 billion during the former’s trip to Abu Dhabi.
American F-16s escorted President Trump to Abu Dhabi where he was greeted by the UAE President. From there, they proceeded to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and onwards to the Presidential Palace Qasr Al Watan, where Trump was honored with the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civilian honor.
Among the deals announced was Etihad Airways’ $14.5 billion commitment to invest in 28 Boeing 787 and 777x aircraft. These planes will be powered by engines made by GE Aerospace. The 3 parties had agreed to this deal back in October 2024 and it is now formalized.
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the UAE and the U.S. government have also agreed on an “AI acceleration partnership agreement”.
UAE has for long been asking U.S. to help it become a global leader in artificial intelligence, and this move is a step in that direction. As part of it, we will see Nvidia exporting 500,000 of its most advanced AI chips to the UAE. The two leaders also attended the unveiling of a new 5GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi, which would be the largest outside the United States.
This move also comes on the back of U.S. commitment with the Saudi government to build large-scale data centres in the Kingdom as part of its partnership with Humain. Trump concluded his trip, reiterating and thanking the UAE for its commitment of investing $1.4 trillion in the U.S. economy over the next 10 years.
