Trump hails Qatari pledge to invest $12.98 billion in US airbase, heads to UAE
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US President Donald Trump also said Qatari defence purchases signed on May 14 are worth US$42 billion.
PHOTO: AFP
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DOHA – US President Donald Trump said on May 15 that Qatar will invest US$10 billion (S$12.98 billion) in coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base south-west of the country’s capital Doha, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
In a speech to US troops at the base during his tour of the Gulf, Mr Trump also said Qatari defence purchases signed on May 14 are worth US$42 billion.
Mr Trump’s motorcade had pulled up next to a big hangar at the base after a drive along closed roads and under dusty skies, through a flat desert landscape.
Two bright red Tesla Cybertrucks that belong to Qatar’s internal security forces could be seen in the parade of vehicles, according to a shared pool report by AFP news agency.
Mr Trump then headed to the United Arab Emirates, where leaders are seeking US help to make the wealthy Gulf nation a global leader in artificial intelligence.
The US has a preliminary agreement with the UAE to allow it to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips a year, starting 2025, Reuters reported on May 14.
The deal would boost the UAE’s construction of data centres vital to developing artificial intelligence models.
But the agreement has provoked national security concerns among sectors of the US government, and the terms could change, sources said.
A string of business agreements has been inked during Mr Trump’s four-day swing through the Gulf region, including a deal for Qatar Airways to purchase up to 210 Boeing wide body jets
The trip has also brought a flurry of diplomacy.
Mr Trump made a surprise announcement on May 13 that the US will remove longstanding sanctions on Syria and subsequently met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa
He urged Mr Sharaa to establish ties with Syria’s longtime foe Israel.
In Abu Dhabi, Mr Trump will meet UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other leaders.
AI is likely to be a focus of the final leg of Mr Trump’s trip.
Former president Joe Biden’s administration had imposed strict oversight of exports of US. AI chips to the Middle East and other regions.
Among the Biden administration’s fears were that the prized semiconductors would be diverted to China and buttress Beijing’s military strength.
Mr Trump has made improving ties with some Gulf countries a key goal of his administration.
If all the proposed chip deals in Gulf states, and the UAE in particular, come together, the region would become a third power centre in global AI competition after the United States and China.
Mr Trump had dangled the possibility of making a side trip to Turkey to join Russia-Ukraine talks before returning to Washington, but a US official said on May 14 that the president would not make that stop. REUTERS
