UAE leader meets with Biden, tech chiefs in Washington visit
Microsoft announces plans to open a new Global Engineering Development Center in the UAE, the company's first in the Arab world
U.S. President Joe Biden and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meet in the Oval Office (Getty Images)
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed emerged from the White House this week with a new security pact that recognizes the Gulf state as a “major U.S. defense partner.” The Emirati leader also met with top tech and finance leaders while he was in Washington to talk about the UAE’s AI ambitions.
During a meeting in the Oval office on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden called the UAE “a nation of trailblazers… always looking to the future, always making big bets. And that’s something our countries have in common and our people have in common.”
On the following day, Sheikh Mohamed held serial meetings with MicrosoftCEO Satya Nadella, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Also present were senior members of the Royal Court and corporate executives, including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE National Security Adviser and Chairman of AI development firm G42; Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO of Mubadala; Mohamed Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment and CEO of ADQ; Edge Group Chairman Faisal Al Bannai and G42 CEO Peng Xiao.
Microsoft, meanwhile, announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its Global Engineering Development Center’s activities to the UAE, opening a new facility in Abu Dhabi that will be the company’s first engineering center in the Arab world.