Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's first official trip to the United States aims to push the United Arab Emirates-U.S. relationship to a new "geo-economic phase" centered on economic growth and innovation, top officials said ahead of a meeting of the two leaders in Washington, D.C., on Monday. "The purpose of the visit is really from an Emirati perspective, it's investing in our future … through an economic lens," Anwar Gargash, the Emirati leader's most senior diplomatic advisor, told reporters during a briefing in Dubai on Thursday. The agenda for Sheikh Mohammed's meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will include discussions on major regional challenges like the war in Gaza, but Gargash said the primary objective is economic realignment, as the UAE seeks to push the relationship beyond the traditional focus of regional conflict, oil and defense. "We are more in a geo-economic phase," Gargash said, suggesting that the Emirati president would seek to expand economic and security cooperation, but also key areas like artificial intelligence, renewable energy, climate and space. "The two leaders will highlight a half century trajectory of UAE-U.S. partnership in trade, investment and security," the Emirati ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, posted on X ahead of the visit. "Few countries are moving as fast on advanced technologies and artificial intelligence — and as closely in sync with the U.S. — as the UAE," he added.

Growing investment ties

Trillion-dollar relationship

The United States and the UAE have a trade and investment partnership that spans more than five decades. In 2023, bilateral trade between the UAE and the U.S. was worth around $31.4 billion, with U.S. exports to the UAE exceeding $24.8 billion, according to the UAE Embassy in Washington, D.C. The UAE, which produces nearly 4% of the world's oil supply, also has investments in the United States that total $1 trillion. The UAE sovereign wealth funds including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala are major investors in American real estate, infrastructure and technology sectors.

• Read More