Trump rounds off his tour with a bumper USD 200 bn investment: US President Donald Trump inked USD 200 bn worth of commercial agreements between the US and the UAE during his visit to the Emirates, according to a White House statement. The new agreements, in energy, critical minerals, and — as expected — AI, bring the total investment ticket over his Gulf tour to USD 2 tn.

Agreements signed last night were not only for the US’ benefit — the UAE’s AI ambitions got a huge shot in the arm with announcements of what’s set to be the largest data center complex outside of the US, a sovereign cloud launchpad, and an AI engineering complex, all backed by some of the US’ biggest tech firms.

The signed agreements also build on and “support” the USD 1.4 tn committed by the UAE to the US back in March, according to the statement.

AI AND TECH-

#1- The two countries will build a 5 GW US-UAE data center complex in Abu Dhabi — set to be the largest outside of the US — to house UAE hyperscalers and large enterprises, according to a Commerce Department statement. The facility will use nuclear, solar, and gas power, and will house a science park to drive AI innovation.

State AI giant G42 will build the complex in partnership with US companies, the statement said, without disclosing their names. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son and Cisco President Jeetu Patel were among those present yesterday in Abu Dhabi during Trump’s visit.

The agreement contains “strong security guarantees to prevent diversion of US technology,” according to the statement, which did not disclose details on the nature of the guarantees.

REMEMBER- The two countries have reportedly been working on an AI chip agreement, with Reuters saying they have already finalized a framework for the agreement yesterday, as Trump looks set to roll-back Biden-era AI export curbs.

The agreement would hand the UAE up to 500k of Nvidia’s most advanced chips annually. Around 20% of those would go to state-backed AI firm G42, while the rest would support data centers built by US firms, including a potential OpenAI facility.

The AI agreements have not come without controversy: A similar agreement signed with Saudi Arabia and the agreement with the UAE have triggered concerns within the Trump administration over a potential lack of enforceable safeguards to prevent diversion to China given close ties between Beijing and the Gulf, Bloomberg reports.

Saudi Arabia is already said to be in talks to hand the US oversight of chip usage and data center access, with the two also exploring the concept of “data embassies” — sovereign cloud zones exempt from local data laws — to address concerns over potential Chinese access. Similar terms could apply to the anticipated UAE agreement.

In the UAE’s case, state AI giant G42 has already severed ties with China and reached an agreement to prevent access to a Microsoft-run facility by personnel from countries with US arms embargoes, or who are on the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List, including China, and to lock the facility down with US defense tech, following Microsoft’s USD 1.5 bn investment in the firm.

#2- Abu Dhabi will also see a new global engineering center, courtesy of AI and machine learning firm Qualcomm, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and e&. The center will focus on AI, data centers, and industrial IoT. Qualcomm joined the UAE’s NextGen FDI program earlier this year.

#3- New sovereign cloud launchpad to bring USD 181 bn: The UAE Cybersecurity Council and e& have partnered with Amazon Web Services to launch a Sovereign Cloud Launchpad. The project, set to add USD 181 bn to the UAE economy by 2033, will speed up the use of cloud services in public services and include a cybersecurity tech innovation center.

ENERGY-

#1- A USD 60 bn energy partnership: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is partnering with ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources on a USD 60 bn agreement to expand oil and natural gas production. The project looks to lower energy costs and create jobs for both Emirati and American workers.

#2- USD 10 bn for modular nuclear energy reactors: Industrial Holding Company and American energy equipment supplier Holtec International will cooperate to build a fleet of Holtec’s SMR-300 small modular reactors at its facility in Michigan. An initial USD 10 bn was committed, with an additional USD 20 bn to be added for fleet projects. The project aims to “revitalize American nuclear energy infrastructure,” the statement read.

Industrial Holding Company? It’s unclear whether this firm is linked to Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company or if it’s a separate UAE-based entity.

CRITICAL MINERALS-

#1- Aluminium smelting facility to double US production: Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) will build a USD 4 bn primary aluminum smelter project. Production will provide critical mineral supply chain support and double the US’ current aluminium production capacity.

We already knew about this: Plans for the smelter were announced on the sidelines of National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Washington last March, where he pledged USD 1.4 tn investments in the US.

#2- EGA will also collaborate with Tawazun Council and US defense conglomerate RTX on a USD 4 bn primary gallium smelter project in Oklahoma. Production will provide critical mineral supply chain support for semiconductors used for tech manufacturing security means.

AVIATION-

Etihad Airways will invest USD 14.5 bn in Boeing and GE Aerospace for 28 Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft manufactured in the US by GE engines. The flag carrier currently has a fleet of around 100 aircraft, with CEO Antonoaldo Neves saying last month it plans to add 20 to 22 new planes this year in a bid to meet its target of 170 planes by 2030. The airline is gearing up for an IPO on the ADX.

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