Sheikh Mohamed’s Washington visit reinforces UAE-US ties

The joint statement issued by the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and US President John Biden on Monday at the end of the UAE President’s first official visit to Washington reflected the deepening ties between the two countries.

And these ties look to the future that the two countries want to build based on technologies – artificial intelligence (AI), nuclear power for civilian purposes and climate friendly policies and programmes including Partnership Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE), Agricultural Innovation Mission 4 Climate (AIM4C) and several other programmes. The US has also recognised the UAE as a major defence partner of US, the only other country apart from India to be named so.

In a region riddled with many conflicts, including the ongoing wars in Gaza and in Lebanon, the UAE has charted a distinct path for itself of leading the region into peace and prosperity through technology and economic progress. The joint statement says, “The Leaders charted an ambitious course for the United Arab Emirates and the United States to lead global efforts to develop and expand new fields central to the global economy, particularly in advanced technologies and the clean energy required to power Artificial Intelligence.”

It is this purely futurist-oriented partnership that marks out relations between the two countries. Biden observed at the Oval Office after his meeting with Sheikh Mohamed, “The UAE is a nation of trailblazers that’s always looking to the future – always making big bets…In fact, it’s a cornerstone of our growing cooperation, in AI, in clean energy, in space, in investing in infrastructure to connect regions.”

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president told CNN’s Becky Anderson that Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to Washington “was mostly and almost exclusively about the future.” He said, “It was about the economy. It’s about technology, and about the UAE bid to partner in what is the technology of the future…The AI component was “front and centre in the discussion.””

The two countries count on each other to stand together even as the geo-political situation is passing through an uncertain and turbulent phase. The UAE is looking into the future, beyond the fog and noise of the present-day situation in the region and in the world. And the UAE is aware that the future is all about the economy and technology, and that the problems people face across the world is rooted in these two aspects. It is technology that will help people to overcome their economic deprivation.

The UAE, like the US, believes in the power of the private sector, which spawns a free market economy. A highlight of the visit of the UAE President to the US is the signing of the contract between UAE’s private sector Group 42 (G42) and the American private sector Internet giant Microsoft. The two are engaged in the digital transformation of Kenya. It is an ambitious project not just for Kenya but for the whole of East Africa and the Middle East.

This is indeed investment for the future. When the political friction looming large over the horizon right now disappears, then what will remain clearly on the landscape are the projects for the future which will provide livelihood for the millions of people living in the region. Investment in future technologies is the only guarantee for the generations of people to come. The UAE leadership has set its steady gaze on the horizon with an intention to gear up for the future. Not many countries have been closely engaged with the future as the UAE has been. This is sure to pay dividend in the future. This is the outcome of the far-sighted leadership of the UAE.