Letter from Ambassador Al Otaiba to the Business Community

Below is the text of a letter UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba sent to the US-UAE Business Council on October 19, 2026.

Dear Members and Friends of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council,

My recent trip home to Abu Dhabi — from family gatherings to meetings with senior government leaders — was uplifting and affirming. I was moved by everybody’s determination and words of encouragement through what has been a challenging few months. I have heard the same resolve from so many of our business partners in both the UAE and US.

Your messages and your actions have meant so much — to our leadership, to our people and to me personally. You did not flinch, and neither did we. For this, I wanted to offer my sincere thanks to the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council and to all its members

I also want to update you on important UAE-US developments and reinforce the pillars of our relationship. We adapt, we persevere — and more than ever, we do it in close partnership with the US. Our commitments to the United States remain firm, our major investments are moving forward and expanded access to advanced technology is opening further opportunities.

Supercharging UAE-US Technology Cooperation

In the desert outside Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s largest data center complexes continues to take shape. The 5-gigawatt UAE-US AI Campus, built with American partners and powered by American chips, is more than infrastructure. It is a statement of UAE resolve and clearly exemplifies the depth of the bilateral relationship. 

In July, Washington reinforced that partnership by elevating the UAE to Country Group A:5 under Commerce Department export rules. The designation authorizes approved companies and government entities license-free access to eligible US technologies. This includes advanced AI chips and servers, commercial satellites and spacecraft, and dual-use technologies and defense-related equipment. The UAE is the first Arab state to receive this designation, a move that will help American companies reduce licensing delays and make joint projects more predictable.

This welcome action is also a win for the US. To preserve its AI advantage, the US wants international partners committed to the American “tech stack” and the security controls that come with it. The UAE is that partner, helping build and secure this infrastructure alongside the US. As this computing capacity comes online in the UAE, US companies will be able to provide rapid, low-latency inferencing services to more than two billion people across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

The UAE understands that A:5 carries obligations. We have implemented extensive legal, institutional and structural protections. These include ring-fenced security environments, approved end users, verifiable non-diversion, vetted personnel and continuous monitoring. Approved UAE organizations have already removed — and will continue to ban — any hardware, software or investment that originates in or could benefit states or entities of concern.

Track Record of Trust

The value of our partnership with the US is only as strong as the commitments, safeguards and oversight behind it. The UAE has earned its place among America's most trusted partners. We will not put that trust, or American data, technology and security at risk. 

The clearest precedent is the 2009 UAE-US “123 Agreement” on civilian nuclear cooperation. To access American nuclear energy technology, the UAE accepted restrictions that go well beyond what most countries accept. The UAE has committed to forgoing uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing as well as submitting to intensive international verification. US lawmakers have called it “the gold standard.” Today, four nuclear reactors supply 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs, providing reliable, low-carbon power to our national grid, including to our new data centers. Our civilian nuclear partnership demonstrates how cooperation on sensitive technologies can succeed when commitments are binding and safeguards are verifiable. That same discipline guides our approach to AI cooperation and to our defense and security relationship.

In fact, the US has entrusted the UAE to acquire and operate many of the most advanced American defense systems. THAAD, Patriot missile systems, F-16s and Apache helicopters purchased and deployed by the UAE have engaged thousands of Iranian drones and missiles since the conflict began. This not only shielded the UAE homeland — it was also a key link in the integrated network that defended American personnel, assets and allies across the region. Ongoing UAE access to these advanced US defense systems and munitions is critical to the continued success of this security partnership.

In May 2025, the Trump administration formalized the U.S.-UAE Major Defense Partnership, building on the UAE's designation as a US Major Defense Partner by President Biden in 2024. In July 2026, CENTCOM established Task Force Talon Synapse — the world's first bilateral task force dedicated to accelerating military AI applications.

The $1.4 Trillion Investment Partnership – Growth & Capital for America

The UAE has purchased and invested hundreds of billions of dollars in US technologies, companies and energy projects. That capital is already at work — and our ten-year, $1.4 trillion economic and trade framework with the US is exceeding its first-year targets.

Technology

• Since 2009, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala has played a major role in US semiconductor manufacturing through its investment in GlobalFoundries (GF). Building on this longstanding UAE investment, GF announced a $16 billion plan in June 2025 to expand semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities at its facilities in New York and Vermont, strengthening American chip production and domestic supply chains.
• Core42 expanded its Buffalo AI cluster from 18MW to 60MW, adding 42MW of US AI compute capacity.
• Mubadala Capital co-led Crusoe's $3.9 billion Series F funding round alongside US investors Atreides Management and Valor Equity Partners, valuing the Denver-based AI infrastructure company at $30.9 billion.
• MGX joined the $500 billion Stargate Project to build AI infrastructure across the United States; launched the $100 billion AI Infrastructure Fund alongside Microsoft, BlackRock and GIP; backed funding rounds for OpenAI and xAI totaling $12.6 billion; and, in July, acquired Aligned Data Centers in Texas for $40 billion alongside BlackRock and GIP, adding 6.4 gigawatts of computing capacity across 51 campuses in the US and Latin America.
• UAE companies were among the earliest investors, customers and partners in California-based Cerebras Systems, which went public earlier this year in the largest tech IPO since 2019.
• When Congress required TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest its US operations, UAE investors joined Oracle and Silver Lake to keep TikTok in the US and preserve access for 200 million American users.  

Energy

• ADNOC, XRG and Masdar have invested more than $85 billion in critical US energy infrastructure across 19 states, with plans to invest $440 billion by 2035. This includes Masdar’s 5.8-gigawatt clean energy portfolio in California, New Mexico, Texas and New York.
• In March 2025, ADQ launched a $25 billion initiative with Energy Capital Partners in US energy infrastructure and data centers. 
• Mubadala Energy backed Commonwealth LNG's $21.25 billion Louisiana-based LNG export facility.

Manufacturing and Critical Minerals

• Emirates Global Aluminium’s planned $4 billion production facility in Oklahoma will nearly double US domestic aluminum production and create 1,000 direct jobs, 1,800 indirect jobs and support 4,000 local construction jobs.
• In October 2025, ADQ, alongside the US International Development Finance Corporation and Orion Resource Partners, launched a $1.8 billion investment platform focused on securing US critical mineral supply chains. This deal builds on ADQ and Orion Resource Partners’ January 2025 $1.2 billion mining investment partnership.

Aerospace and Aviation

• In September 2026, the UAE's Space42 signed a $1 billion satellite communications venture with California-based Viasat.
• Emirates, Etihad and flydubai have placed a combined $65.5 billion order for 168 Boeing aircraft utilizing General Electric engines.

Together, these investments expand American manufacturing, energy and computing capacity while creating opportunities for US companies to innovate and grow. They reflect a long-term commitment to the American economy and to the partnership that has made this progress possible. The UAE’s elevation to A:5 unlocks the next chapter of all of this — more speed, more scale and more opportunity on both sides.

The UAE Meeting our US and Global Commitments

The regional conflict and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz have put an unprecedented strain on the region’s economy. But the UAE is moving forward with our investment and technology plans. We are meeting our commitments as a reliable energy supplier to global markets. We are doubling down on our commitment to build resilience into our infrastructure across the UAE and look forward to supporting the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s upcoming Infrastructure Trade Mission in November, which has been certified as an official US Department of Commerce bilateral engagement. We will continue to diversify and grow our economy.

We did not pause. We prepared, invested, pushed forward with the partners we trust most — and the results speak for themselves. The A:5 designation and our continued investments in the US demonstrate the trust we have built and our enduring commitment to long-term prosperity together. The UAE continues to deliver on its promises to safeguard American technology and to create opportunities for both our countries. These are the messages I ask you to carry to all your colleagues, boards and networks — and to all our US friends and stakeholders.

I am grateful, as always, for the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council's enduring friendship, partnership and support. Thank you to Waleed, Tommy, Danny and the team, and to every member who has stood with us over the last few months. We have faced many obstacles and challenges, but they have only made us closer, stronger and more determined than ever before.

With deep appreciation,

Yousef Al Otaiba
Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States