Latest news with #OrderOfZayed
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Did Trump really strike Gulf deals worth $2tn?
Flying home from his Gulf trip last week, President Donald Trump told reporters "that was a great four days, historic four days".Visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he added in this trademark swagger that "the jobs and money coming into our countries, there has never been anything like it".Trump claimed that he was able to secure deals totalling more than $2tn (£1.5tn) for the US, but do the numbers add up?The trip itself was an extravaganza, with the three Gulf states pulling out all the of fighter jets, extravagant welcoming ceremonies, a thundering 21-gun salute, a fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks, royal camels, Arabian horses, and sword dancers were all part of the UAE also awarded Mr Trump the country's highest civilian honour, the Order of visit's optics were striking; the region's richest petrostates flaunted their opulence, revealing just how much of that fortune they were ready to deploy to strengthen ties with the US while advancing their own economic goals. Before embarking on the trip, President Trump, who touts himself as a "dealmaker in chief" was clear that the main objective of the trip was to land investments worth billions of dollars. On the face of it, he Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reiterated a pledge to invest $600bn in US-Saudi partnerships. There were a plethora of deals announced as part of this, encompassing arms, artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, infrastructure projects and science collaborations, and various security ties and $142bn defence deal grabbed a lot of the attention as it was described by the White House as the largest arms deal there remains some doubt as to whether those investment figures are his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump had announced that Saudi Arabia had agreed to $450bn in deals with the actual trade and investment flows amounted to less than $300bn between 2017 to 2020, according to data compiled by the Arab Gulf States report was authored by Tim Callen, the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief to Saudi Arabia, and now a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute."The proof with all of these [new] deals will be in the pudding," says Mr BBC contacted the White House for comment. In Qatar, Trump announced an "economic exchange" worth at least $1.2tn. However, in the fact sheet released by the White House deals worth only $243.5bn between the two countries were of the Qatari agreements that was confirmed was Qatar Airways purchasing up to 210 passenger jets for $96bn from the beleaguered American aircraft White House said the deal would support 154,000 jobs in the US each year of their production, totalling one million jobs over the deal's the UAE inked an agreement to construct the world's largest AI campus outside the US, reportedly granting it access to 500,000 cutting edge microchips from US giant Nvidia, starting next project sits within the UAE's broader pledge to invest $1.4tn in the US over the next decade. As well as the challenge of delivering what is promised, another potential obstacle to these figures being realised are oil prices tumbled to a four-year low in April amid growing concerns that Trump's tariffs could dampen global economic growth. The decline was further fuelled by the group of oil producing nations, Opec+, announcing plans to increase Saudi Arabia, the fall in global oil prices since the start of the year has further strained its finances, increasing pressure to either raise debt or cut spending to sustain its development month, the IMF cut the forecast for the world's largest oil exporter's GDP growth in 2025 to 3% from its previous estimate of 3.3%."It's going to be very hard for Saudi to come up with that sort of money [the $600bn announced] in the current oil price environment," Mr Callen analysts note that a lot of the agreements signed during the trip were non-binding memorandums of understanding, which are less formal than contracts, and do not always translate into actual transactions. And some of the deals included in the agreement were announced oil firm Aramco, for instance, announced 34 agreements with US companies valued at up to $90bn. However, most were non-binding memorandums of understanding without specified monetary its agreement to purchase 1.2 million tonnes of liquified natural gas annually for 20 years from US firm NextDecade was also included in the list of new deals, despite it first being announced months ago. Yet the massive investments mark a continuation of the shift in the US-Gulf relationship away from oil-for-security to stronger economic partnerships rooted in bilateral Al Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University and an associate fellow at think tank Chatham House, says that the deals indicate that US and the Gulf states are "planning the future together and that was a significant change for the relationship".He adds that the AI deals with the UAE and Saudi Arabia were central to this as "they clearly demonstrate that they are trying to see how to build the new global order and the new way of doing things together".This emphasis on AI underscores the growing strategic importance of the technology to US diplomacy. Trump was accompanied on the trip by Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Elon Musk, who owns Grok on the eve of the visit, the White House scrapped tough Biden-era restrictions on exports of the advanced US semiconductors required to best run AI systems. The rules had divided the world into tiers, with some countries enjoying broad access to its high-end chips, and others being denied them 120 countries, including the Gulf nations, were grouped in the middle, facing strict caps on the number of semiconductors they could import. This had frustrated countries such as Saudi Arabia, who have ambitions to become high-tech economies as they transition away from Saudi and the UAE are racing to build large-scale AI data centres, while Abu Dhabi, the UAE's capital, aims to become a global AI UAE has made visible efforts to reassure Washington – deepening partnerships with US tech firms, curbing ties with Chinese companies, and aligning more closely with American national security Al-Saif says that the UAE is "betting on the Americans when it comes to AI". "We have seen that the technological turn in the 90s came from the US anyway." Both camps are hailing the visit as a triumph. For the Gulf, and especially Saudi Arabia, it resets a partnership that frayed under Biden, and underscores their ambition to act as heavyweight players on the world Trump, touting "trillions" in new investment offers a timely boost - his tariff hikes have dented global trade and pushed US output into its first quarterly dip in three Gulf deals will be sold as proof that his economic playbook is the end of the trip, Mr Trump worried that whoever succeeds him in the White House would claim credit for the deals once they come to completion."I'll be sitting home, who the hell knows where I'll be, and I'll say, 'I did that,'" he said."Somebody's going to be taking the credit for this. You remember, press," he said, pointing to himself, "this guy did it."
The National
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Trump wraps up Gulf trip in UAE and Turkey holds uncertain Ukraine talks
Donald Trump is wrapping up his visit to the UAE today. He arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday, becoming the second serving US president to visit the country. Turkish-hosted talks to end the conflict in Ukraine appeared uncertain on Thursday. Israel's army stepped up attacks on Gaza. On today's episode of Trending Middle East: Sheikh Mohamed bestows Trump with Order of Zayed
Yemen Online
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yemen Online
Donald Trump's visit to the UAE underlines a special relationship
The friendship between the American and Emirati peoples is one that has been present for decades. In 2019, President Sheikh Mohamed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, met the family of Pat and Marian Kennedy, American doctors who founded the emirate's Oasis Hospital in 1960, a clinic that went on to deliver thousands of Emirati babies at a nascent time in the country's rapid modern development. The US-Emirati relationship forged in such austere times has since developed into a 21st-century partnership characterised by deep co-operation in trade, security, energy and diplomacy. The arrival in Abu Dhabi of US President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon, and the warm welcome afforded him by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed — as also, significantly, the UAE's highest civilian honour, the Order Of Zayed bestowed on Mr Trump — reflect the importance of that relationship for both countries. "Your relationship and mine is already at the highest level and can't get better. It's an honour to be with you," Mr Trump told President Sheikh Mohamed at Qasr Al Watan last evening. The US leader's visit to the UAE is the third act in what has been a purposeful and dynamic visit to the Gulf. A profusion of bilateral deals worth billions of dollars has been accompanied by some unique moments. Among these was Mr Trump's Riyadh address to the US-Saudi Investment Forum, in which he chided 'western interventionists' and praised Gulf countries for 'developing your own sovereign countries, pursuing your own unique visions, and charting your own destinies'. His visit to Qatar – the first official visit by a US President – was as productive as it was historic, resulting in what the White House said was an estimated $1.2 trillion 'economic exchange'. But if Mr Trump's visit to Doha was a historic first, his presence in the UAE is the latest in several visits by serving and former US presidents that have underlined the two nations' enduring ties. In 1990, former president Jimmy Carter made a private three-day trip to the Emirates, meeting the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to work together on eradicating preventable disease in the developing world. In January 2008, Geroge W Bush became the first sitting US president to come to the country, his two-day visit representing a milestone moment for the long-time partners. It is a partnership that has grown further following Mr Trump's return to office. Since January, his administration has agreed a series of deals and investments involving the UAE, including March's announcement by the White House that the Emirates had pledged a $1.4 trillion 'investment framework' for projects related to artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing. Sources speaking to The National this week have hinted at more developments to come, with UAE and US officials having been "actively engaged" in the lead-up to Mr Trump's visit in hopes of advancing a broad AI and technology partnership. Such engagement is good for the UAE and the US – two countries that still have much to offer each other. But this thriving relationship is also important for the wider Middle East, where the need for dialogue to solve intractable problems – such as the war in Gaza – is more pressing than ever. So long as the US-Emirati bond continues to deepen, both countries will be able to play their part not only in working towards prosperity for their peoples but in working to make this region a better place.
The National
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Order of Zayed recipients
Sheikh Mohamed awards Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, with the Order of Zayed for the successful hosting of 2023's Cop28. Photo: Wam
The National
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
From Chirac to Trump: The rich history of the UAE's Order of Zayed
Live updates: Follow the latest on Trump's Gulf trip US President Donald Trump joined an elite band of world leaders when he was granted the UAE's Order of Zayed on Thursday. The elaborate gold medal is considered the UAE's highest civilian award and is conferred on heads of state and leading dignitaries, typically during visits to the Emirates, in recognition of their contributions on the global stage. It serves as an enduring symbol of the warm friendship between the UAE and nations around the world and is an award that stretches back decades. It is named in honour of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, helping to further his legacy of international co-operation and humanitarianism. Mr Trump is the second US President to receive the accolade, with George W Bush also granted the Order of Zayed during his state visit in 2008. Japan's Emperor Naruhito was awarded the Order of Zayed during a visit to the UAE in January 1995, when he was his country's Crown Prince. The ceremony took place at Mushrif Palace in the capital. An eventful tour of the Emirates also included a trip to the top of the top of Jebel Hafeet and a chance to indulge in local passions at a camel race and a football match, as well as a cruise down Dubai Creek. Former French president Jacques Chirac received the Order of Zayed from the UAE Founder, Sheikh Zayed, during a visit to the Emirates in 1997. The UAE paid homage to the distinguished politician following his death in 2019 by naming a street after him. Jacques Chirac Street – which leads to Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island – was unveiled at a ceremony attended by dignitaries. China's President Xi Jinping was bestowed the Order of Zayed by the late President Sheikh Khalifa as part of his key visit to the UAE in 2018. He received the award in recognition of his efforts to develop and strengthen the friendship and co-operation between the UAE and China. Other global leaders and heads of state to be granted the award include Russian President Vladimir Putin, as part of the first visit to the Emirates by a Russian leader in 2007; Saudi Arabia's King Salman; Britain's Queen Elizabeth II; King Mohammed VI of Morocco; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In somewhat of a break from tradition, the UAE highlighted the achievements of its own leaders following the success of the Cop28 climate talks, held in Dubai in 2023. President Sheikh Mohamed awarded the Order of Zayed to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court at a ceremony in February 2024.
