Today's Edition
DOHA (REUTERS)
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Qatar will invest $10 billion in coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base southwest 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, Trump also said Qatari defence purchases signed on Wednesday are worth $42 billion.
Trump is now heading to the UAE, 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 this year, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The deal would boost the UAE's construction of data centers vital to developing artificial intelligence models.
A string of business agreements has been inked during Trump's four-day swing through the Gulf region, including a deal for Qatar Airways to purchase up to 210 Boeing widebody jets, a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US, and $142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
The trip has also brought a flurry of diplomacy. Trump made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that the US will remove longstanding sanctions on Syria, and subsequently met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In Abu Dhabi, Trump will meet UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other leaders.
AI is likely to be a focus of the final leg of Trump's trip.
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 center in global AI competition after the United States and China.
