Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
The United States and the United Arab Emirates held their eleventh Economic Policy Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on 15 January 2026.
Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Minister of State in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs at the US Department of State Jacob Helberg, co-chaired the dialogue.
Trade and Investment
The 11th session of the Economic Policy Dialogue underscored the strategic importance of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries, highlighting that the UAE is the largest US trade partner in the Gulf region, a distinction the UAE has held for nearly two decades, and that the United States maintains a significant trade surplus with the UAE.
The senior government officials emphasised that bilateral trade and investment, supported by clear regulatory pathways and market openness, makes both countries more prosperous.
They praised growing cooperation in priority sectors including critical minerals, with a view to expanding value-chain cooperation, advanced technology, energy, manufacturing, and life sciences.
They reiterated the UAE’s commitment to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States over the next decade, strengthening the UAE’s position as America’s largest regional economic partner.
Economic Impact
Direct trade relations have expanded significantly and support many jobs in both countries.
UAE Minister Al Hajeri highlighted that by 2024, total non-oil trade between the UAE and the US surpassed $38 billion, and continues to make impressive strides. Preliminary data for 2025 shows that in the first half bilateral non-oil trade reached $19.3 billion, reflecting year-on-year growth of 3.4 percent, supporting key American industries such as energy, aviation, and technology.
Economic Security
The US Under-Secretary emphasised the importance of enhancing economic security and securing trusted supply chains. He highlighted the ways shared interests in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, energy abundance, and digital infrastructure can strengthen economic and national security alignment, and maintain secure supply chains.
Both sides also explored further collaboration on critical minerals, with the Under Secretary highlighting the UAE’s leadership on resilient supply chains, and its commitment to the Pax Silica framework.
The delegations discussed coordinating investment in third-country projects to support diversified and resilient critical minerals supply chains.
Pax Silica and Connectivity
In line with shared efforts to strengthen economic stability and regional connectivity, the US Under-Secretary and the UAE Minister of State also discussed how to operationalise the US-led Pax Silica Declaration, which aims to build secure, resilient, and innovation-driven supply chains for technologies foundational to the AI era.
The UAE officially joined the Pax Silica on 14 January 2026, underscoring the UAE’s leadership and early engagement in advancing resilient supply chains through investment, infrastructure development, and international partnerships.
The United States and UAE further reiterated their support for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), particularly emphasising the importance of increasing port and rail capacity.
Institutional and Multilateral Cooperation
The delegations held critical discussions on investment, trade, finance, business cooperation, intellectual property, tourism, digital economy, emerging technologies, energy and critical minerals, water, transportation, logistics, and infrastructure, as well as joint efforts to promote global energy abundance.
The dialogue also covered cooperation between the two countries in advancing regional integration and in multilateral forums, including the upcoming US-led G20.
Al Hajeri and Under-Secretary Helberg agreed to explore potential areas of cooperation among I2U2 countries, including in energy security, critical minerals, and water security, in line with shared strategic priorities.
Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies
Both sides reiterated their support for the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, which was signed during US President Trump’s visit to the UAE in May 2025.
The partnership created a pathway for US companies to export advanced AI semiconductors to American entities in the UAE, and to trusted UAE entities, while taking into account enhanced security requirements and the implementation of robust security measures, thus unlocking significant Emirati investment into US AI infrastructure, R&D centres, cloud architecture, and AI-enabled industrial applications.
The Minister and Under-Secretary acknowledged the significant progress on the proposed five-gigawatt AI campus under construction in the UAE, which will be the world's largest AI campus outside the United States.
Technology companies, public and academic entities, and research centres in both nations are actively benefitting from this landmark initiative through expanding access to cutting-edge infrastructure and deeper innovation partnerships.
Financial Cooperation
The delegations discussed ongoing cooperation in AI and advanced technologies, the proposed Science and Technology Agreement, as well as joint research in quantum computing, genomics, and space exploration.
Officials from both countries reaffirmed their shared commitment to fostering a dynamic, efficient investment environment that supports mutual growth and innovation. They also discussed ongoing efforts to address remaining trade barriers.
In addition, officials reviewed ongoing bilateral collaboration to counter illicit finance, enhance sanctions coordination, and strengthen frameworks to safeguard the integrity of the global financial system, noting that they look forward to the formal inauguration of the UAE-US Treasury Engagement Framework on illicit financing expected in 2026.
UAE officials welcomed the announcement of the US Treasury Department’s Known Investor pilot programme for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Water Security and Sustainability
Reflecting ongoing efforts to elevate the global water agenda and address water-related challenges, Minister Al Hajeri noted that the UAE looks forward to co-hosting the 2026 United Nations Water Conference at the end of 2026 with Senegal, further underscoring the UAE’s leadership on the global stage.
The two delegations reaffirmed the vital role of the Economic Policy Dialogue in maintaining strong cooperation, and in advancing economic relations and partnerships between the United States and the UAE.
