Trump ends his Gulf tour by signing million-dollar agreements with the Emirates
- Qatar: million-dollar deals and mediation with Iran
- A tour based on commercial diplomacy
- Risks and concerns
US President Donald Trump has concluded his tour of the Persian Gulf with a series of trade and diplomatic agreements worth more than 1.3 trillion euros in investment commitments. The US president's last stop was in the United Arab Emirates, where he announced agreements worth $200 billion, including the construction of the world's largest artificial intelligence campus outside the United States, in Abu Dhabi.
This ambitious technology project, promoted by the Emirati company G42 in collaboration with US companies, will cover 26 square kilometres and have an energy capacity of 5 gigawatts dedicated to AI data centres. According to the US Department of Commerce, it is expected to house large technology companies and massive computing infrastructures that will also serve the Global South.
One of the highlights of the agreement includes the potential annual export of up to 500,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs to the Emirates until 2027. Twenty percent of these chips would go directly to G42, consolidating the alliance between the two countries in technology. US Secretary of Commerce Howard W. Lutnick called the agreement ‘a key milestone for President Trump's vision of achieving global leadership in artificial intelligence.’
Qatar: million-dollar deals and mediation with Iran
Meanwhile, in Doha, Trump signed a £80 billion agreement with Qatar Airways for the purchase of 210 Boeing aircraft, reinforcing the commercial diplomacy that has characterised his visit. The contract, considered one of the most significant in the history of commercial aviation, is accompanied by a controversial proposal: that the United States temporarily use a luxurious Qatari Boeing 747-8 as Air Force One while new versions of the iconic presidential aircraft are being built. Although the proposal has been defended by Trump as a cost-saving measure, it has sparked intense debate in Washington over its legal and ethical implications.
During a state dinner with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Trump urged Qatar to use its influence over Iran to revive nuclear negotiations and end Tehran's uranium enrichment programme. ‘There are only two paths: friendly and hostile. And hostile is a violent path. I don't want that,’ Trump said, stressing that he would never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Qatar has historically been a mediator between Washington and Tehran. In this regard, the Qatari emir expressed his commitment to a nuclear-free region. However, he defended the Iranian regime's right to develop nuclear energy for civilian purposes, calling for any agreement to be reached through diplomatic channels.
A tour based on commercial diplomacy
Trump's tour began in Saudi Arabia, where deals worth $600 billion were signed, including an 80 billion investment in artificial intelligence. US companies such as ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources will partner with state oil company ADNOC to expand oil and gas production in a deal worth 54 billion euros.
In the aerospace sector, Boeing and GE Aerospace also signed a 13.1 billion euro contract with Etihad Airways for the purchase of 28 wide-body aircraft. These agreements pushed Boeing's shares to a 52-week high and GE Aerospace's shares to their highest point since 2001.
Risks and concerns
Despite the general optimism, several US officials have expressed concern about the risk of China gaining indirect access to sensitive AI technologies through these agreements with Gulf countries. The Department of Commerce has assured that ‘strict measures’ will be implemented to prevent the diversion of critical components, particularly Nvidia's advanced GPUs.
In addition, Israel has expressed concern that it has been excluded from Trump's regional agenda. Jerusalem fears that the agreements with the Gulf states — and the possibility of a new pact with Iran — will alter the geopolitical balance in the region, especially in a context of prolonged tensions with Tehran and its allies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
During his stay in Riyadh, Trump also met with the new Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent leader who took power after an offensive that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In a meeting described as ‘brief but promising,’ Trump said that al-Sharaa, who in the past had ties to al-Qaeda, has ‘a real opportunity to bring calm’ to a Syria devastated by decades of conflict.
