For the businesses and workers tied to the UAE-US economic relationship, the message from the country’s top diplomat in Washington was one of reassurance: the partnership is not slowing down. In a letter sent on Monday to the US-UAE Business Council, Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to Washington and a Minister of State, said neither his country nor the council’s members had flinched during the challenges posed by the US conflict with Iran and the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We adapt, we persevere, and more than ever, we do it in close partnership with the US,” he wrote. “Our commitments to the United States remain firm, our major investments are moving forward, and expanded access to advanced technology is opening further opportunities.”
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The letter set out what that continuity means in practical terms for people working on both sides of the relationship. Mr Al Otaiba pointed to the recent announcement that UAE-based Space42 had signed a $1 billion communications deal with US-based Viasat, and to Emirates, Etihad and flydubai placing more than $65 billion worth of orders for Boeing aircraft with General Electric engines. “Together, these investments expand American manufacturing, energy and computing capacity while creating opportunities for US companies to innovate and grow,” he said.
He also highlighted the UAE’s 10-year, $1.4 trillion tech investment framework in the US, which he said was ahead of schedule. “The UAE has purchased and invested hundreds of billions of dollars in US technologies, companies and energy projects,” he wrote, adding that “that capital is already at work”.
Defence co-operation featured prominently as well. Mr Al Otaiba noted that the US has, over the years, entrusted the UAE to use and operate American defence systems, F-16s and Apache helicopters, which he said had helped the country deal with aggression from Iran this year. “This not only shielded the UAE homeland, it was also a key link in the integrated network that defended American personnel, assets and allies across the region,” he wrote.
That trust, he argued, was underlined by a decision in July, when the US Department of Commerce significantly upgraded the UAE’s export status, granting it “enhanced favourable treatment” and making it easier to export and transfer US military equipment, satellites, spacecraft, and artificial intelligence and energy technology. “More speed, more scale and more opportunity on both sides,” he told council members, describing the upgrade as a tremendous vote of confidence in the UAE’s technological commitment to keeping sophisticated tools out of the wrong hands.
“We have implemented extensive legal, institutional and structural protections,” Mr Al Otaiba wrote. “These include ring-fenced security environments, approved end users, verifiable non-diversion, vetted personnel and continuous monitoring.”
Meanwhile, the letter also touched on the artificial intelligence boom that has drawn the two countries closer in recent years, with many technology executives regarding the UAE as ahead of the curve. In May, after several months of working out security details, the first shipments of US-based Nvidia’s highly sought-after CPUs and GPUs, critical for AI infrastructure, arrived in the UAE. “The five-gigawatt UAE-US AI Campus, built with American partners and powered by American chips, is more than infrastructure, it is a statement of UAE resolve and clearly exemplifies the depth of the bilateral relationship,” Mr Al Otaiba said.
He argued that the geopolitical obstacles of the past year, though challenging at times, had strengthened the UAE-US connection, and said the Emirates would fulfil its promises to protect US technology and create more opportunities for both countries. “These are the messages I ask you to carry to all your colleagues, boards and networks,” he said.
Mr Al Otaiba also told council members that the UAE had “earned its place among America’s most trusted partners” and would never put that trust at risk. In a statement to The National reflecting on the letter, he emphasised the country’s reliability in diplomacy. “From civil nuclear cooperation to Major Defense Partner to A:5, the UAE has proven time and again it is one of America’s most trusted partners,” he said. “Our commitments are firm, our safeguards verifiable and our resolve unchanged … we will continue to deliver.”
Whether the pace of these investments holds as regional tensions evolve remains the open question for the workers and companies counting on them.