Trump concludes Gulf tour in the UAE with record deals

 

US President Donald Trump concludes his Gulf tour on Friday in the UAE, following stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he announced billions of dollars in deals, a diplomatic opening toward Syria, and optimism about a nuclear agreement with Iran.

Trump's first foreign trip of his second term saw a record order for Boeing aircraft worth more than $200 billion, a massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia, and the lifting of decades-old sanctions on Syria.

The US president was warmly received in the three countries, whose leaders he praised, saying he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had "a lot of love" for each other. This contrasts sharply with the tepid Saudi-US relations that characterized the beginning of former President Joe Biden's term.

Trump is scheduled to attend a trade and business meeting on Friday morning, then tour the Abrahamic Family House on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, according to local media. This complex, which will open in 2023, will include a mosque, a church, and the UAE's first synagogue, promoting coexistence in the Islamic state.

The UAE was one of the Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States during Trump's first term. The accords also included Morocco and Bahrain.

The US president held talks with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Thursday, following a tour of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the largest in the country and renowned for its towering white columns and gold-decorated walls.

During his stop in Doha, Trump hailed what he called a "record-breaking" $200 billion deal with Qatar Airways to purchase Boeing aircraft.

He also hinted from Qatar that a deal on Iran's nuclear program was near, which would avert military action, an announcement that caused oil prices to plummet.

However, no progress was announced on the Gaza war during his visit to Qatar, which played a key mediating role in the truce talks. In a speech in Doha, Trump reiterated that the United States should "take" the Gaza Strip and turn it into a "freedom zone."

The Saudi visit included promises from Riyadh of $600 billion in investments, including an arms deal that the White House described as "the largest in history."

The White House also announced that the Saudi company Data Vault would invest $20 billion in artificial intelligence-related sites in the United States, and that technology companies, including Google, would invest in both countries.

In the first such meeting in 25 years, Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh and announced the lifting of sanctions on the war-torn country, but in return, he called on al-Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel.

The US President said his Gulf tour had raised "trillions of dollars," but the generosity of Gulf leaders has also sparked controversy, with Qatar offering Trump a luxury jet ahead of his visit, in what Trump's Democratic opponents described as blatant corruption.

The UAE's English-language newspaper, The National, reported that the United States and the UAE are working to announce a partnership in artificial intelligence and technology during Trump's visit.

The UAE seeks to become a leader in technology, particularly artificial intelligence, to diversify its oil-dependent economy.

However, these ambitions hinge on access to advanced US technologies, including AI chips, which were subject to strict export restrictions and which the UAE President's brother, National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, reportedly lobbied for during a visit to Washington in March.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration reversed several new restrictions imposed by Biden that were due to be added on May 15 to exports of semiconductors used in AI development, which have primarily affected China. The UAE President announced that Abu Dhabi will invest $1.4 trillion in the United States over the next ten years.

Agreements totaling $200 billion were signed, including a $14.5 billion order from Boeing and GE Aerospace, as well as the participation of the state-owned energy company ADNOC in a $60 billion project in the United States, according to the White House.