Leaders from the UAE and US met inWashington, DC for the first U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership WorkingGroup. Officials discussed the "ironclad" UAE-US AI agreements,including US chip exports to the UAE, and the "gold-standard"security framework developed by G42 that embeds safeguards directly intocompute architecture.

Chaired by UAE Minister of InvestmentMohamed Al Suwaidi and US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs JacobHelberg, the working group serves as a forum to deepen tech cooperationand align both nations on protocols protecting American AI.

Why This Matters

The UAE's $1.4trillion US investment commitment centers on American AI. Announced duringPresident Trump's May 2025 visit to Abu Dhabi, the U.S.-UAE AI AccelerationPartnership creates pathways for UAE companies to deploy hundreds of billionsinto the US tech sector. The UAE is already funding major AI infrastructureprojects like Stargate and backing frontier tech companies including OpenAI,Anthropic and xAI.“The US is proud to standshoulder to shoulder with the UAE in building the future together.” – US Departmentof State

Full Press Release: The FirstU.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership Interagency Working Group Meeting

On March 26, Under Secretary of Statefor Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister ofInvestment Mohamed Al Suwaidi chaired the first interagency meeting of theU.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership Working Group. The meeting broughttogether senior representatives from the Departments of State, Commerce,Energy, War, and Treasury, as well as the White House Office of Science andTechnology Policy, and from the UAE government and companies, both virtuallyand in person in Washington, D.C. Artificial intelligence and emergingtechnologies are rapidly reorganizing the global economy and driving newgrowth, which is a key reason the United States and the UAE have identified AIas an area for cooperation and agreed to work together to secure global AIsupply chains under the Pax Silica initiative.

The U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnershipagreement signed in May 2025 is the flagship framework for U.S.-UAE AIcollaboration. The Working Group provides a platform to position the UnitedStates as the UAE’s AI partner of choice. It is a venue to deepen cooperation,establish clear expectations, and ensure transparency and alignment on exportcontrols, investment screening, and other technology protection measures neededto unlock advanced AI chip exports to the UAE.

During the meeting, UAE officialsunderscored their desire to sustain the partnership and their intent to deepenalignment with U.S. technology and standards, while preserving the UAE’ssovereign decision-making. The UAE reiterated that it stands by its $1.4trillion U.S. investment commitment since last May and is reaffirming itscommitment even amid regional instability, with UAE entities already deployingsignificant capital into U.S.-based digital infrastructure at scale. The UnitedStates stressed that the U.S. commitments in the two countries’ AI agreementare ironclad, including continued UAE access to U.S.-origin AI chips, withdemonstrable security compliance, and that the United States will continue touphold these commitments. The U.S. side acknowledged the progress made by AIcompany G42 in building its already operational Regulated TechnologyEnvironment, which both sides regard as a gold-standard framework for managingsensitive technologies, and the company’s efforts to enhance this environmentin line with jointly agreed security and governance requirements. As part ofthis work, G42 and its U.S. partners are exploring a common operating picture(COP) as an additional mechanism within the Regulated Technology Environment tosupport greater transparency, assurance, and operational coordination.

During a guest presentation to the UAEdelegation, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson emphasizedthat the U.S.-UAE partnership is highly valued in Congress and is strategic forboth nations. The Speaker highlighted the importance of trusted partners toU.S. efforts to maintain AI leadership and compete with China, and heencouraged participants to continue engaging with Congress on the futuretrajectory of cooperation.

As a next step, both sides will deepentechnical exchanges on the implementation of export control and investmentscreening regulations, including additional detail regarding G42’s COP-relatedinitiatives within the Regulated Technology Environment. The two sidesdiscussed exploring options to improve licensing predictability and tooperationalize follow-on engagement at the working level. The convening of theWorking Group even during the crisis in the Gulf highlighted the importanceboth governments attach to their AI partnership. The United States is proud tostand shoulder to shoulder with the UAE in building the future together.