Trump confirms US-UAE deal for Gulf state to buy advanced AI microchips

President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States and the United Arab Emirates had reached an agreement to let Abu Dhabi buy advanced microchips from US companies to power artificial intelligence. It marks a significant move as the UAE looks to become an AI hub, but Washington has so far been cautious about allowing the Emirates to access the chips over fears the sensitive technology could be accessed by Chinese competitors.

On Friday, Trump met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the last stop of his tour in the Middle East. The two leaders discussed the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as ways to strengthen cooperation across various fields, including in investment, energy, advanced technology, artificial intelligence and industry, reported WAM, the official Emirati news agency.

Trump later attended a breakfast roundtable with US and UAE business leaders alongside the Emirati president, where he said the UAE plans to invest more than $1.4 trillion in the United States in the coming years.

Trump earlier spoke to reporters in Abu Dhabi, addressing the situation in Gaza. “We got to get that taken care of,” he said. “A lot of people are starving. There's a lot of bad things going on.”

The US leader arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday from Doha, where he said the United States should “take” the Gaza Strip and turn it into a “freedom zone,” after 19 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

His trip, starting on Tuesday, also included a two-day stop in Saudi Arabia, where he made a surprise announcement that he will lift all US sanctions imposed on Syria.

Later on Friday, Trump is scheduled to tour the Abrahamic Family House, a multi-faith place of worship in Abu Dhabi, before returning to Washington aboard Air Force One.