The UAE is ready to 'fast track' its AI partnership with the US after the debut of US President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan. Antonie Robertson / The National
The UAE is ready to 'fast track' its AI partnership with the US after the debut of US President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan. Antonie Robertson / The National
The UAE is ready to 'fast track' its AI partnership with the US after the debut of US President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan. Antonie Robertson / The National
After this week's debut of the White House's Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, the UAE is ready to expedite its AI partnership with the US.
This follows President Donald Trump's visit to Abu Dhabi in May, when he announced the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, which included plans for a 5GW UAE-US AI Campus.
Those plans allow for the UAE to obtain powerful CPUs and GPUs from the US which are necessary to build up AI infrastructure.
After months of intense talks, unveiled plans for a 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi give reason for ample optimism for the UAE's AI ambitions. Photo: G42
Once completed, part of the campus, dubbed Stargate UAE, will be among the largest AI data centres in the world.
Security guarantees to protect the UAE AI technology from falling into the wrong hands were are major aspect of the deal.
Also bolstering the deal, Mr Trump's much-anticipated AI plan, unveiled on Wednesday, seeks to reduce regulatory barriers in place to build up AI infrastructure in the US, while pushing for increasing the prevalence of US AI technology around the world.
That bodes well for the UAE, and other countries with similar AI aspirations.
It's also a sharp contrast to the former president Joe Biden's policies. His administration sought tighter export controls on US chips to prevent them from being used in China.
The UAE's ambassador to the US has commended the AI Action Plan unveiled by the Trump White House.
“The UAE welcomes President Trump's AI Action Plan and is ready to fast track our strategic AI partnership with the US,” Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Minister of State and ambassador to the US, said on Wednesday.
“As a trusted partner, we are working closely with leading US companies to adopt and scale American technology in the UAE and beyond.”
Some pundits aren't sold however, and they're trying to exert influence to slow the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership.
In an opinion article in The Washington Post, Christopher Chivvis and Sam Winter-Levy from the Carnegie Endowment, a US-based think tank, expressed concern about China somehow getting access to the US AI technology, among other things.
“To now approve the offshoring of the data centres that will house so many of the resulting chips to another conflict-prone region would be a major unforced error – one that will prove difficult to reverse,” they wrote.
The UAE has addressed this by committing to a $1.4 trillion investment framework for AI infrastructure in the US.
Regardless, the Wall Street Journal also reported that some in the White House have sought to take a closer look at the recently announced UAE deal, amid concerns about US technology diffusion.
A group photo from the launch of Stargate UAE. Attending were President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief executive and managing director of Mubadala Investment Company, and leading representatives. Photo: G42
But last week, the White House cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence adviser beat back those concerns, and reaffirmed the US partnership with the UAE.
“These are countries that are long-standing partners and allies of the US going back many years,” White House AI chief David Sacks said during a round-table discussion at the Pennsylvania Energy and AI Summit, referring to the UAE.
Mr Sacks added that the Trump administration thought that if US technology wasn't used in AI projects around the world, China-owned Huawei would step in to fill the vacuum.
“We don't want to create demand for Huawei,” he explained, also describing some of the chip smuggling scenarios that have become prevalent in media reports as quixotic.
He said the newest standard data centres technology hardware is approximately 2.4m tall, with servers weighing 1,600kg, and that it's “very easy to see” if they're being transported.
“I know that our Gulf State partners would honour our security agreement,” he said just hours before President Trump appeared at the event in Pennsylvania.
“This is ultimately a trust-but-verify situation, and all we have to do is send an inspector to a data centre and they can count the racks,” Mr Sacks explained, reiterating that he felt the scenarios of AI hardware smuggling were “blown wildly out of proportion.”
Meanwhile, there's no indication from the White House or Department of Commerce, which is ultimately responsible for allowing the export of US technology, that criticism of the UAE deal is gaining traction.
In a statement to The National, the UAE ambassador expressed continued optimism about the AI plans with the US announced back in May.
“Signed just 60 days ago in Abu Dhabi, the UAE-US investment and Ai partnership will deliver enormous benefits to both countries,” Mr Al Otaiba said.
“High level teams have been actively engaging to advance the agreement, to get chips moving and to accelerate technology co-operation.”
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Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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Key findings of Jenkins report
Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
