A senior UAE official is planning to visit Washington to ease access to American technology and discuss U.S. investment, according to people familiar with the matter, seeking to influence the Trump administration on export controls governing advanced semiconductors needed to power artificial intelligence, reported by Bloomberg.
Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is the UAE’s national security adviser and the brother of the country’s president, is scheduled to meet with Trump cabinet officials next week, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because trip plans have not yet been made public. It is likely to include Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and National Security Adviser Mike Walz. It is unclear whether he will meet with the president, the people said.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan
The key for the United Arab Emirates is its ability to buy advanced chips from companies like Nvidia Corp. The Gulf country is competing to become a regional hub for AI development and has poured vast sums of capital into data centers used to train AI models. But the U.S. has restricted exports of advanced chips to the UAE since 2023, and a new set of rules is planned to cap overall computing power for most countries.
The Trump team is currently considering whether to keep the Biden-era rules as they are or change them. Sheikh Tahnoon plans to advocate for easier access to advanced semiconductors and highlight the UAE’s plans for significant investments in tech infrastructure on American soil. That includes funding from Abu Dhabi-based MGX for a $100 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure project that President Donald Trump unveiled during his first week in office.
MGX
MGX is part of Sheikh Tahnoun’s sprawling $1.5 trillion empire, which includes everything from investment funds to AI company G42, the crown jewel of the UAE’s tech ambitions. He is chairman of those businesses, as well as the private equity firm Royal Group and First Abu Dhabi Bank. It was unclear whether there would be another investment announcement during his visit to the US. White House and Commerce Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the UAE embassy declined to comment.