President Donald Trump’s inaugural promise to unleash the U.S. oil industry and stifle the Biden administration’s push toward renewable fuels produced muted reactions in Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 2 oil producer after America.

Asked about what Trump’s vow to “drill, baby, drill” and vastly increase U.S. petroleum production meant for OPEC countries, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said he’s confident that rising world oil demand – particularly from China – will cushion the impact.

“We still think the market is healthy,” Nasser told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Last year we averaged around 104.6 million barrels (per day); this year, we’re expecting an additional demand of about 1.3 million barrels … so there is growth in the market.”

UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq, meanwhile, expressed frustration with the European Union over maintaining his country on its “black list” of countries that are not doing enough to combat money laundering.

Bin Touq said the UAE will hold talks with the E.U. to settle the issue. “I do not understand how the UAE is still on the black list,” he told Bloomberg in an interview at Davos. The Paris-based watchdog Financial Action Task Force’s decision dropped the UAE from its parallel “gray list” last year.

At its pavilion on the Davos Promenade Tuesday morning, the UAE delegation hosted a breakfast talk featuring Minister for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi, International Holding Co.  CEO Syed Basar Shueb and 2PointZero CEO Mariam Almheiri.

Abu Dhabi introduced its new Government Digital Strategy on Tuesday, allocating $3.5 billion to digitize and fully automate the emirate’s administrative processes.

The $3.5 billion project aims to make Abu Dhabi the world’s first fully AI-native government by 2027, Ahmed Al Kuttab, Chairman of the Department of Government Enablement, said in a statement.

“By incorporating AI, cloud technologies, and data-driven insights into our government’s DNA, we will transform public service delivery, optimize government operations, and drive sustainable economic growth,” Al Kuttab said.

The project is projected to add $6.5 billion to the emirate’s GDP, while creating 5,000 jobs. It is structured to align with the UAE’s broader 2031 vision, in which the country expects AI to contribute $96 billion to the economy by 2030, or 13.6% of GDP.

As the World Economic Forum opened Monday on the icy streets of Davos, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were beckoning delegates to come in from the cold – touting a range of gatherings inside their well-heated pavilions on the Swiss ski resort’s main drag.

Saudi House, an all-in-one base at 105 Promenade Street that the kingdom is using to attract foreign investment, will feature programs and exhibits prepared by 13 separate agencies.

They range from the Investment and Tourism ministries to the Royal Commission for AlUla – the ancient desert city, now a center for museums and resorts – to the Diriyah Company – which is carrying out a $63 billion overhaul of Riyadh’s historic core.

Walk-in visitors are generally treated to assorted varieties of Saudi dates and cardamom-infused coffee. Saudi House will also be hosting more elaborate luncheons and dinner meetings during the week.

“The kingdom’s approach to unlocking its potential involves really rewriting the economic playbook,” Saudi Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Alibrahim told Arab News in an interview published today.

“This is not just about investments or the government spending money,” he said. “This is about creating an environment that’s vibrant, that attracts capital, attracts minds to the opportunities that are being created in the kingdom led today by the government.”

Down the road at 68 Promenade Street, the UAE will also have a crowded schedule. On Tuesday, G42 Chief Operating Officer Mansoor Al Mansoori will host Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, for a public chat on “how global cooperation can address challenges like ethical governance, inclusivity, and shared innovation.”

Dubai is taking new steps to make its prime property more attractive to foreign investors.

The emirate issued regulations on Sunday enabling private property owners of all nationalities in the Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Jaddaf areas to convert their ownership to so-called “freehold” status, The National reports.

Under freehold classification, an investor has a direct title of ownership of the property and the land on which it is built.

“This news is huge because it could be the beginning of what I suppose will be the opening up of all areas to be bought by non-locals,” Mario Volpi, head of brokerage at Novvi Properties, told the newspaper.

KKR plans to invest in Gulf Data Hub, one of the largest independent data center platforms in the Middle East, amid skyrocketing global data consumption driven by AI and cryptocurrencies.

The announcement will make the global investment firm a major player in the regional data storage market, as GDH owns a portfolio of seven state-of-the-art data centers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and additional facilities planned in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, Bloomberg reports.

Prior investments by KKR in the region include a strategic partnership with ADNOC to create ADNOC Oil Pipelines.

The fund also acquired a commercial aircraft portfolio from Etihad Airways in 2020 through Altitude Aircraft Leasing.

Gulf business leaders and cabinet ministers will be jetting into snowy Davos, Switzerland, for next week’s World Economic Forum, where discussions will touch on Middle East reconstruction and focus on what to expect as Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Trump himself will address the gathering of the world’s financial elite by video on Thursday, Jan. 23, just three days after his inauguration, with 3,000 participants from more than 130 countries registered to attend the WEF events in person.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Group CEO of the UAE’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Manchester City Football Club, will take the stage on Tuesday in a panel discussion about “Finding Growth in Uncertain Times.”

He’ll be chatting in the half-hour session with Carlyle Co-Chairman David Rubinstein; Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of SEB, Sweden’s largest lender; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization; and WEF President Børge Brende.
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Later on Tuesday, Brende will hold a public conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is playing a central role in negotiations for the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, will be interviewed by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

Saudi Arabia, which has rented multiple storefronts on Davos’ central street, the Promenade, to promote its $1.5 trillion Neom megaproject, will be bringing a bevy of key cabinet ministers to the forum.

On Thursday, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan and Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Alibrahim will be chatting on stage with BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. Also participating in the session will be Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah AlSwaha.

Jared Kushner, founder of Gulf-backed Affinity Partners, is bringing the Trump name to Belgrade.

Kushner tells Bloomberg in an interview published Thursday that Affinity will team up with Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Dubai-based Emaar Properties, to develop a luxury hotel and apartment complex on the site of the former Yugoslav defense ministry in the Serbian capital.

Kushner said he discussed the idea with Eric Trump, his brother-in-law and executive vice president at the Trump Organization, and they settled on the licensing deal.

Hussain Sajwani, founder of Emaar rival Damac Properties, appeared with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort last week and pledged to invest $20 billion to build data centers in the U.S.

The UAE, Italy and Albania are working together on a $1.1 billion venture that includes building an undersea cable to carry renewable energy produced in Albania to Italy.

The deal signed Wednesday in Abu Dhabi will focus on large-scale renewable energy projects in Albania, including solar, wind, and hybrid systems involving battery storage, The National reports.

It follows a preliminary joint venture agreement last year between Abu Dhabi green energy company Masdar and Albania’s KESH to develop renewable energy projects in Albania.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the deal “tangibly shows new forms of cooperation can be built even among seemingly distant partners – at least geographically speaking.”