Latest news with #CH-47FChinook
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UAE's president bestows highest civilian honor on Trump
The leader of the United Arab Emirates gifted President Donald Trump his country's highest civilian honor on Thursday. "In recognition of President Donald Trump's exceptional efforts to strengthen the longstanding ties of friendship and strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America, I am honored to announce that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan bestows the Order of Zayed upon President Trump," a woman was heard before Trump was presented the award. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the "Order of Zayed is considered the highest civilian honor granted by the UAE, and is bestowed upon world leaders and heads of state." "The award bears the name of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed, whose legacy of humanitarianism, international cooperation and the pursuit of peace continues to have an impact throughout the world today," the ministry added. Trump Makes Historic Uae Visit As First Us President In Nearly 20 Years Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop on his Middle East trip this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush's trip in 2008. Read On The Fox News App Trump Signs Agreements With Qatar On Defense And Boeing Purchases In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. On the eve of the president's visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi. Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. Original article source: UAE's president bestows highest civilian honor on Trump
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump makes historic UAE visit as first US president in nearly 30 years
President Donald Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 30 years, following President George W. Bush's trip in 2008. Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.' chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. Trump Signs Agreements With Qatar On Defense And Boeing Purchases On the eve of the president's visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi. However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump's crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm. Read On The Fox News App "If I was a betting person, I'd bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump's actual visit that can be announced when he's on the ground in Abu Dhabi," John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements." "The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space," he added. "And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this." Increased scrutiny arose around Trump's Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization's luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region. Trump Continues To Defend Qatar Gifting Us $400M Jet: 'We Should Have The Most Impressive Plane' But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia's war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip. While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel. The UAE has ardently opposed Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump's "riviera plans," instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative. But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.' biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump's one-day visit. "As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making," Hannah said. "But I'm personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America's great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran." Hannah explained that Trump's visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi's "stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood" and could "pay real dividends going forward." "The UAE's top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but 'blood and sand' as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia," he continued. "With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal." Original article source: Trump makes historic UAE visit as first US president in nearly 30 years
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump makes historic UAE visit as first US president in nearly 30 years
President Donald Trump on Thursday will soon land in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 30 years, following President George W. Bush's trip in 2008. Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.' chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. On the eve of the president's visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi. However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump's crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm. "If I was a betting person, I'd bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump's actual visit that can be announced when he's on the ground in Abu Dhabi," John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements." "The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space," he added. "And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this." Increased scrutiny arose around Trump's Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization's luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region. But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia's war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip. While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel. The UAE has ardently opposed Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump's "riviera plans," instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative. But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.' biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump's one-day visit. "As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making," Hannah said. "But I'm personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America's great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran." Hannah explained that Trump's visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi's "stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood" and could "pay real dividends going forward." "The UAE's top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but 'blood and sand' as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia," he continued. "With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal."
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State Department approves $1.4B helicopters, F-16 parts sale to UAE
The U.S. has announced a potential sale of more than $1.4 billion in helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to the United Arab Emirates, days ahead of President Trump's visit to the country. The State Department on Monday evening said the proposed sale, which was approved and notified to Congress, includes $1.32 billion for CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and $130 million for parts and support for F-16s. Trump is expected to travel to the UAE as the final stop on his four-day trip to the Middle East, a visit that is expected to reveal several new financial deals between the two countries. The UAE has already pledged to spend $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next decade, expected to focus on semiconductors, manufacturing, energy and artificial intelligence. Trump may also announce a major arms sale with the first country on his Middle East stop, Saudi Arabia. While arms transfers and defense trade — overseen by the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the State Department — are seen as important tools of U.S. foreign policy and national security, such sales to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are seen as controversial given the two countries are involved in Yemen's brutal civil war. The State Department first reviews the deals sought by other countries to make sure they line up with Washington's goals and, if approved, notifies Congress of the sale. Lawmakers then have the option to reject a potential agreement, but if not, the U.S. government moves on to negotiations. Democratic lawmakers Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (Calif.) in January opposed a $1.2 billion arms sales to the UAE over its providing of weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, a group the U.S. has charged with war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Ahead of the latest UAE sale announcement, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday said he would 'block any arms sale to a nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump,' pointing to the Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm that is putting $2 billion into Trump's crypto venture and Qatar's gifting of a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet. 'We should have a full Senate debate and vote,' Murphy wrote on X. 'UAE's investment in Trump crypto and Qatar's gifting of a plane is nuclear grade graft. An unacceptable corruption of our foreign policy.' Congress in the past has attempted to block Trump from pushing through arms sales to Gulf nations, most notably in 2019, when they placed holds on deals for Saudi Arabia and the UAE over concerns about civilian casualties in the Yemen war, where the Saudi coalition has been blamed for the majority of civilian deaths. But Trump invoked a provision of the law that allows sales to go through immediately without a review period in cases deemed an emergency, attempting to circumvent Congress and push through 22 separate deals with the Saudis, Emiratis and Jordanians, with a total value of $8.1 billion. Democrats who oppose any Gulf nation sales this time around will have a significantly harder time blocking them, given they only hold the minority in both the House and Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
State Department approves $1.4B helicopters, F-16 parts sale to UAE
The U.S. has announced a potential sale of more than $1.4 billion in helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to the United Arab Emirates, days ahead of President Trump's visit to the country. The State Department on Monday evening said the proposed sale, which was approved and notified to Congress, includes $1.32 billion for CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and $130 million for parts and support for F-16s. Trump is expected to travel to the UAE as the final stop on his four-day trip to the Middle East, a visit that is expected to reveal several new financial deals between the two countries. The UAE has already pledged to spend $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next decade, expected to focus on semiconductors, manufacturing, energy and artificial intelligence. Trump may also announce a major arms sale with the first country on his Middle East stop, Saudi Arabia. While arms transfers and defense trade — overseen by the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the State Department — are seen as important tools of U.S. foreign policy and national security, such sales to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are seen as controversial given the two countries are involved in Yemen's brutal civil war. The State Department first reviews the deals sought by other countries to make sure they line up with Washington's goals and, if approved, notifies Congress of the sale. Lawmakers then have the option to reject a potential agreement, but if not, the U.S. government moves on to negotiations. Democratic lawmakers Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (Calif.) in January opposed a $1.2 billion arms sales to the UAE over its providing of weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, a group the U.S. has charged with war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Ahead of the latest UAE sale announcement, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday said he would 'block any arms sale to a nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump,' pointing to the Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm that is putting $2 billion into Trump's crypto venture and Qatar's gifting of a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet. 'We should have a full Senate debate and vote,' Murphy wrote on X. 'UAE's investment in Trump crypto and Qatar's gifting of a plane is nuclear grade graft. An unacceptable corruption of our foreign policy.' Congress in the past has attempted to block Trump from pushing through arms sales to Gulf nations, most notably in 2019, when they placed holds on deals for Saudi Arabia and the UAE over concerns about civilian casualties in the Yemen war, where the Saudi coalition has been blamed for the majority of civilian deaths. But Trump invoked a provision of the law that allows sales to go through immediately without a review period in cases deemed an emergency, attempting to circumvent Congress and push through 22 separate deals with the Saudis, Emiratis and Jordanians, with a total value of $8.1 billion. Democrats who oppose any Gulf nation sales this time around will have a significantly harder time blocking them, given they only hold the minority in both the House and Senate.
