The UAE is now officially a “trusted partner” of the US technology ecosystem after signing onto Pax Silica, a US-led framework designed to secure the supply chains underpinning artificial intelligence — from advanced semiconductors to energy, connectivity, and critical minerals, according to official statements here and here. The UAE was expected to join after attending the initiative’s inaugural summit in Washington last December.

It is now the ninth member of the bloc, joining the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Australia, and Qatar. India is expected to join next, while discussions for onboarding Saudi Arabia are in the “early stages,” The National cites US undersecretary of state for economic affairs Jacob Helberg as saying.

What Pax Silica is actually about

US officials describe Pax Silica as “an economic security coalition built for the AI age” — the first framework to treat compute, silicon, minerals, and energy as shared strategic assets, rather than siloed policy areas. A huge part of it is countering what US officials call “coercive dependencies” — diplomatic shorthand for reducing exposure to China across silicon, minerals, energy inputs, and advanced manufacturing.

It’s an acknowledgment that “if the 20th century ran on oil and steel, the 21st century runs on compute and the minerals that feed it,” Helberg said in remarks following the UAE’s signing of the declaration.

In joining, the UAE has committed to multilayered cooperation with the other members aimed at strengthening supply-chain security through flagship joint projects across the full technology stack. This includes connectivity and edge infrastructure such as 6G, compute and data centers, advanced manufacturing, logistics, mineral refining and processing, and the energy systems required to power large-scale AI, according to the statement.

“We have the opportunity to approach the cutting edge of technology — from fusion energy to artificial general intelligence — as cofounders,” Helberg said of the UAE and the US’ new partnership. “Like two visionaries in a garage who see the future before anyone else, the United States and the United Arab Emirates can write the code for the next century together,” he added.

As we’ve previously reported, Pax Silica is already translating into projects, from a planned US-Israel industrial park to talks around modernizing trade routes like the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor.

Our take

Pax Silica is a trust framework: Membership places countries inside a preferred circle for US-backed technology, capital, and regulatory cooperation, lowering friction for sensitive AI infrastructure and joint investments.

In practice, that means closer coordination on approvals, faster pathways for cross-border projects, and clearer rules for hosting advanced compute — areas that have become increasingly constrained as export controls tighten.

This is all essential for the UAE: The UAE was waiting for months last year on approvals to import advanced chips for its data center projects, including its planned 5 GW Stargate UAE AI campus, part of Washington’s USD 500 bn Stargate program, which is expected to begin coming online from 3Q 2026 and would rank among the world’s largest AI-dedicated compute hubs. The approvals finally came in November, with certain security conditions in mind.

First signs of action?

As though in tandem, Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company signed an investment agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) — its international investment arm — to invest across strategic sectors, including critical minerals, logistics, mining, energy, and infrastructure, state news agency Wam reports. Investments will focus on emerging and frontier markets, and will also be poured into advanced agriculture, healthcare, and food security.

While no investment figure was disclosed, the framework aims to deploy capital “at scale,” Wam said.

What’s next

Members are set to meet on 4 February in Washington for a ministerial dialogue on critical minerals.

PLUS- A UAE-South Korea AI investment agreement could be coming soon, UAE State Minister Saeed bin Mubarak Al Hajeri told the National — a step that would be another boon for the UAE’s AI ambitions given Seoul’s role in advanced manufacturing and semiconductors.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Tags: