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US President Trump embarked on a visit to the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last week. After meeting with the leaders, the US was able to strengthen ties with the three nations and secure investment deals exceeding $2 trillion in the US.
Trump’s visit indicated that the Gulf nations are willing to improve ties with the US through deals and commitments in defense, aviation, energy and artificial intelligence.
Trump’s visit was accompanied by major CEOs, which marked a new chapter in US-Gulf relations, highlighting the region’s strategic shift toward trade, and technology.
Breaking Down the Deals
High Demand For AI
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are becoming global AI and cloud hubs with sovereign AI campuses, massive chip import deals, and sovereign cloud infrastructure. US tech giants like Nvidia, Amazon, and AMD are leading the charge.
In Saudi Arabia, Nvidia agreed to sell 18,000 Blackwell AI chips to Saudi company Humain, which is backed by the Kingdom, while AMD announced a $10 billion AI compute deal also with Humain. ⁽¹⁾
The UAE secured a deal to import 500,000 Nvidia H10 chips every year, boosting its ambition to become a leading AI hub. Qatar has committed $1 billion to quantum technology with Quantinuum. Saudi Arabia also secured a deal with Supermicro for a $20 billion server hardware with Saudi-backed data center firm Datavolt. ⁽²⁾
Amazon agreed to a $5 billion AI zone in Saudi Arabia and partnered with UAE Cybersecurity Council to launch sovereign cloud platform. ⁽³⁾
Tech giants like Jensen Huang of Nvidia and Sam Altman of OpenAI attended the launch of an “AI campus” in Abu Dhabi, which marked the culmination of Trump’s focus on AI. With the United States as its main ally, these agreements establish the Gulf as a crucial participant in the global AI race. ⁽⁴⁾
Defense and Aviation
Qatar signed a $96 billion order for 210 Boeing jets and $10 billion for a US military facility. The UAE committed a $14.5 billion Etihad Airways deal for Boeing aircrafts. The order includes a mix of Boeing 787 and 777X aircrafts, powered by GE engines and supported by a services package. ⁽⁵⁾
The aircrafts are expected to join the fleet from 2028 onward and are part of the airline’s long-term strategy to double in size by 2030.
GE Aerospace GE recently secured a contract from Qatar Airways to supply GE9X and GEnx engines. This marks the largest widebody engine deal in GE’s history. ⁽⁶⁾
Since the launch of GEnx, the engine family has completed more than 62 million flight hours. Of late, more than 3,600 of these engines are in service and backlog, which includes the spare units. ⁽⁷⁾
Lockheed Martin became major participant in Saudi arms package, including missile and air defense systems alongside Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. No specific details were announced. ⁽⁸⁾
Energy Deals Expansion
The Gulf’s energy push spans LNG terminals in Qatar, oil and gas expansions in UAE, and clean energy investments in nuclear and critical minerals.
Exxon Mobil signed a $60 billion oil and gas expansion deal with the Gulf nations. ⁽⁹⁾
Looking Ahead
Trump’s warm rapport with Gulf leaders, a stark departure from Biden-era tensions, highlighted a decade-long evolution in US-Gulf relations. The visit’s optics reinforced the Gulf’s vision and ambition.
While the long-term impact of these deals remains uncertain, Trump’s trip cemented the Gulf’s role as a vital US partner in a world increasingly defined by economic and technological competition and strengthened ties between the US and the Middle East.
