T + T – Normal size
The strategic partnership files in the economy and technology are among the most prominent objectives of the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him”, to the United States next Monday, in addition to the geopolitical file in the region and the world, where His Highness will meet with US President Joe Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris, and senior US officials, as part of a visit that is the first of its kind for His Highness since assuming the presidency of the state.
It is planned to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries in all fields, especially economy, trade, investment, technology, artificial intelligence, space, renewable energy, combating climate change, sustainability solutions and other aspects that serve the two countries’ vision towards a more advanced and prosperous future for all. These areas constitute one of the important pillars of relations between the two countries in the coming period, and they also represent a priority for the UAE.
This visit comes at an important stage for the UAE and expresses its ambition to enhance its economic prospects and link this to the great technological progress, especially in the field of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Business numbers
UAE-US relations are witnessing increasing growth in various sectors. The UAE is the first Arab trading partner of the United States, while the United States is the third largest trading partner of the country globally.
According to official figures for 2023, non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and the US achieved a growth of 20% to reach more than $40 billion in 2023 compared to 2022, and a growth rate of more than 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
UAE imports from the United States also contributed to supporting more than 166,000 job opportunities in the American markets.
Total UAE investments in the US amount to $38 billion and focus on transportation, commercial activities, information technology, real estate, food and beverages, and space. There are more than $4.3 billion in US investments in the UAE markets, and more than 16,000 US citizens contribute to official business licenses within the country, and 60% of companies in the Dubai International Financial Center are American companies.
There are 55,000 Americans living in the UAE, while about one million visitors visit the country every year. There are about 142 weekly flights between the two countries, at various airports, which provides great opportunities to push economic relations towards further growth in the coming period.
Technology and Artificial Intelligence
The UAE and the United States are committed to a strategic vision to strengthen economic and technological relations, especially in new fields, most notably artificial intelligence.
The UAE believes that the era of artificial intelligence has arrived, and we are living in a moment of transformation that affects all areas of modern life and international affairs. The UAE is betting heavily on anticipating the major transformation in the form and pattern of the economy and technology over the next ten years, and planning for the post-oil era.
The UAE has provided financial support to established technology companies and promising startups, many of them in the United States. For example, Mubadala made a 17-year investment in New York-based GlobalFoundries, which helped revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry while developing Emirati expertise in the sector. G42 With California-based Cerebra Systems to build the world’s largest supercomputer for AI training.
MGX, a UAE-based technology company focused on accelerating the development and adoption of AI and advanced technologies, has also announced a partnership with BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Microsoft to launch the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, to invest in new and expanded data centres to meet the growing demand for supercomputing capacity.
Strong historical relations
The UAE is keen to expand and diversify its options for political action on the international scene, as evidenced by the strengthening of its relations with major powers in addition to influential and emerging regional powers.
The United States has consistently expressed its appreciation for the UAE’s constructive roles in international relations, and views the UAE as a reliable partner in promoting regional and international security and stability and supporting economic and human development paths around the world.
Relations with the United States are historical, solid, and long-standing, based on institutions. The credit for these relations is due to openness and transparency in dealing with files, and commitment to international and humanitarian law in all approaches adopted by the UAE in its international communications, including the United States, where the two countries continue to cooperate to combat extremism and terrorism on two complementary levels: the security and economic levels, through the UAE’s contributions to efforts to combat terrorist organizations, such as the terrorist organizations ISIS and Al-Qaeda and their allies and similar organizations, in the Middle East and Africa. The UAE is also at the forefront of countries that have presented initiatives against hate speech and extremism and establishing societies based on peace, through many platforms that broadcast messages of tolerance and combating extremism, such as the Hedayah Center and the Sawab Center, as well as supporting the forum that supports constructive discourse, in addition to continuing to strongly combat Islamophobia in the West.
The UAE stresses its firm position that there is no solution to the Palestinian issue except through the “two-state solution”, and the need to stop the current war in Gaza and ensure the urgent return of the displaced. The UAE has supported all humanitarian efforts to support the displaced and homeless due to the war, including the aid dock built by the US Department of Defense in cooperation with Cyprus.
The UAE has always invested its international standing in the service of global security and stability. The country’s vision for a peaceful solution is based on historical experiences in international relations, as the costs of wars have squandered irreplaceable opportunities for development and prosperity, and exacerbated humanitarian crises.
The UAE is aligned with supporting US diplomatic efforts to resolve regional crises, including the crisis in Ukraine and the crises and wars left behind by the devastating era of the so-called “Arab Spring.”
Climate Partnership
In November 2022, the two countries crowned these relations with a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement witnessed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to invest $100 billion in implementing clean energy projects with a production capacity of 100 gigawatts in the UAE, the United States and around the world by 2035, with the aim of enhancing energy security, spreading clean technology applications and supporting climate action.
This partnership embodies the joint commitment of the UAE and the United States to advance climate action efforts and raise the bar of ambition in this field through concerted efforts, in line with their goals to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
The United States contributed to the success of many initiatives launched during COP28, which was hosted by Dubai in 2023. The two countries continue their efforts to coordinate and work together within a shared vision that confirms that the fastest and most reliable path to achieving climate neutrality requires accelerating investment in clean energy technologies and resources, as both sides recognize that the success of climate action depends fundamentally on enhancing global energy security, facilitating access to its services, and providing them at reasonable prices.
The two countries are working to create opportunities to launch joint and economically viable investments in emerging and developing countries by focusing on advancing global climate action, as well as supporting economically and environmentally viable sustainable energy projects in developing countries, by providing technical expertise, assistance in project management, and financing.
The UAE has contributed to supporting and developing eight clean energy projects in the United States, with a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts in the states of California, Texas, New Mexico and Nebraska. These projects included investments in two wind power plants: the 149-megawatt Rocksprings Wind Farm in Val Verde, Texas, and the 29.9-megawatt Sterling Wind Farm in Lea County, New Mexico.
