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.<\/p>\n
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.\u2019 chief trading partners in the region \u2014 though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On the eve of the president\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump\u2019s crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm.<\/p>\n
‘If I was a betting person, I\u2019d bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump\u2019s actual visit that can be announced when he\u2019s 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\u2019t be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements.’ <\/p>\n
‘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.’ <\/p>\n
Increased scrutiny arose around Trump\u2019s Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization\u2019s luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The UAE has ardently opposed Israel\u2019s military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump\u2019s ‘riviera plans,’ instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative.<\/p>\n
But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.\u2019 biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump\u2019s one-day visit.<\/p>\n
‘As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making,’ Hannah said. ‘But I\u2019m personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America\u2019s great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran.’<\/p>\n
Hannah explained that Trump’s visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi\u2019s ‘stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood’ and could ‘pay real dividends going forward.’<\/p>\n
‘The UAE\u2019s 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 \u2014 nothing but \u2018blood and sand\u2019 as President Trump famously said in his first term \u2014 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.’ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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