ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — US President Donald Trump arrived at Abu Dhabi on Thursday for the last leg of his tour of American allies in the Middle East.
Trump was met at Abu Dhabi International Airport by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and headed to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
AI is likely to be a focus of Trump’s UAE visit.
UAE leaders seek US assistance to make their nation a global leader in artificial intelligence. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the US has a preliminary agreement with the UAE to allow it to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s NVDA.O most advanced AI chips a year, starting this year.
The deal would boost the UAE’s construction of data centers vital to developing artificial intelligence models. However, the sources said that the agreement has provoked national security concerns among sectors of the US government, and the terms could change.
Former US President Joe Biden’s administration had imposed strict oversight of exports of US AI chips to the Middle East and other regions. Among the Biden administration’s fears was that the prized semiconductors would be diverted to China and buttress Beijing’s military strength.
Trump has made improving ties with some Gulf countries a key goal of his administration. If all the proposed chip deals in Gulf states, and the UAE in particular, come together, the region would become a third power center in global AI competition after the United States and China.
Before arriving in the UAE, Trump gave a speech to US troops in Qatar at the Al Udeid Air Base — the largest US military facility in the Middle East — located southwest of Doha, where he announced that the Qatari government will invest $10 billion over the coming years in Al Udeid.
The US president also said defense purchases signed by Qatar on Wednesday are worth $42 billion.
Trump’s motorcade pulled up next to a big hangar at the base after a drive along closed roads and under dusty skies through a flat desert landscape.
Two bright red Tesla Cybertrucks that belong to Qatar’s internal security forces could be seen in the parade of vehicles, according to a shared pool report by the AFP news agency.
A string of business agreements has been inked during Trump’s four-day swing through the Gulf region, including a deal for Qatar Airways to purchase up to 210 Boeing widebody jets, a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US, and $142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
The trip has also brought a flurry of diplomacy.
Trump made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that the US will remove longstanding sanctions on Syria and subsequently met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
He urged Sharaa to establish ties with Syria’s longtime foe, Israel. Nevertheless, Trump did not include a trip to Israel on his itinerary. He did tell reporters, however, that he believes his meetings with Arab leaders are good for Israel.