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The United Arab Emirates and United States are broadening strategic technology cooperation after a three-day Emirati delegation visit to Washington, where talks covered artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, space, quantum computing and advanced infrastructure. Led by UAE Assistant Foreign Minister for Advanced Science and Technology Omran Sharaf, the delegation met senior representatives from the State Department, Commerce Department, White House, industry and academic institutions as Abu Dhabi advances its $1.4 trillion investment commitment in the American economy.

Details

• Framework origins: The meetings build on the US-UAE investment framework agreed in March 2025, establishing a long-term ambition for Emirati investment in the US economy. Technology and strategic industries sit at its center, connecting capital deployment with bilateral work on advanced capabilities and infrastructure.
• Export-control access: The discussions followed the UAE’s designation under the A:5 export-control framework. Abu Dhabi describes the status as a route to secure technology trade and greater access for approved Emirati entities to advanced US technologies, and says the UAE is the first Arab country to receive it.
• Five-decade base: Sharaf said the relationship rests on more than five decades of trust in defense, intelligence and nuclear energy. He said the same standard now guides cooperation in AI and advanced technologies, with Emirati investments, infrastructure and institutions built on the US partnership.
• Government participants: US participants included Jacob Helberg, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs; Adam Cassady, Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy; Taylor Jordan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Space Commerce; and Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
• Broad Emirati team: UAE cybersecurity chief Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti joined representatives from the Advanced Technology Research Council, UAE Space Agency and Space42. Their participation connected AI discussions with cyber policy, satellites, communications, geospatial intelligence, Earth observation, research and advanced computing.
• Industry and academia: Sharaf met IonQ chief executive Niccolo De Masi, Information Technology Industry Council chief Jason Oxman and Software and Information Industry Association president Christopher Mohr. Talks also involved the Hudson Institute, Johns Hopkins SAIS and CSIS; at SAIS, Sharaf addressed technology, geopolitical power and the international order.

Background

The technology agenda extends a relationship historically centered on energy, defense and trade. Abu Dhabi is building domestic capacity in AI, space and advanced computing while pursuing American corporate and research partnerships, aiming to produce and deploy technology at scale rather than only importing it. For Washington, the arrangement combines advanced-technology controls with capital from a major Gulf investor.

What’s next

Implementation of the March 2025 framework is the next concrete indicator: capital flowing into US technology, infrastructure and strategic industries, alongside approved Emirati entities gaining advanced-technology access through A:5 and new government, corporate, academic and research partnerships taking shape across AI, cybersecurity, quantum computing and space.