Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on Monday held talks with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as part of an official visit to the country.
Sheikh Khaled and Mr Tokayev witnessed the signing of several deals across vital sectors such as artificial intelligence, health care, renewable energy and infrastructure during discussions held at the Presidential Palace, in the capital city, Astana.
The agreements struck include a partnership between the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Turkestan Region Administration to finance the construction of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Maternity Hospital in the Turkestan Region.
Abu Dhabi's clean-energy company Masdar ratified a deal with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy – first announced in November – to build a one-gigawatt wind farm in support of a broader renewable energy drive.
Masdar will also collaborate with Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, to develop a "round-the-clock" energy project with a total base load capacity of up to 500 megawatts and a battery energy storage system with total capacity of up to 2 gigawatts.
AIQ, an Abu-Dhabi based artificial intelligence specialist, is to work with Samruk-Kazyna to harness the advanced technology to boost the performance and efficiency of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector.
Other agreements were finalised to bolster links in fields such as aviation, road and maritime transport and finance and investment.
In January last year, the UAE and Kazakhstan signed a preliminary agreement to explore investment opportunities in data centres and artificial intelligence.
Sheikh Khaled and Mr Tokayev later visited Astana International Financial Centre. Here, Sheikh Khaled highlighted his keenness for the UAE and Kazakhstan to build partnerships between financial institutions to promote economic growth.
Warm welcome
Sheikh Khaled and Mr Tokayev had earlier inspected a military guard of honour at an official reception ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, during which the national anthems of both countries were played.
The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince greeted Kazakh ministers and senior officials during the event.
Sheikh Khaled arrived in Kazakhstan on Sunday to begin an official visit aimed at advancing bilateral ties. He was welcomed at Astana International Airport by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and a number of senior officials.
Sheikh Khaled has been joined by a high-level delegation comprising several ministers and government officials.
They travelled to the Central Asian country on the invitation of Mr Tokayev, the state news agency Wam reported on Thursday.
Sheikh Khaled has undertaken a series of high-profile overseas engagements since being named Crown Prince in March 2023.
He represented the UAE at the funeral of Pope Francis last month, joining hundreds of foreign dignitaries and world leaders as at least 50,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, with another 200,000 estimated to have gathered in the surrounding area.
He held talks in November with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the G20 summit in Brazil.
Sheikh Khaled travelled to India for an official visit in September, during which he met the country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
