The United Arab Emirates plans to invest €40 billion ($46 billion) in Germany in sectors ranging from AI to energy and defense, as the Gulf country looks to deepen strategic partnerships across Europe.
Image : Bloomberg TV
The move is about “reaffirming the long standing relationship and historical partnership” between the two countries, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Berlin on Thursday. About 10 billion euros will be allocated to Bavaria, he said, with the balance going “whenever there is an area of collaboration.”
“The 40 billion is just the beginning,” Al Zeyoudi said. “We’re going to shop around for the big opportunities that are going to bring this relationship to the next level.”
Data centers and artificial intelligence have been a central tenet of the UAE’s plans to diversify its economy and extend its political influence by carving out a role as a key player in the fast-growing industry. Broadening defense ties beyond Washington, the UAE’s main ally, has come under increased focus as the Iran war drags into its seventh month with little prospects for peace in the short term.
“The conflict is something we’re dealing with,” Al Zeyoudi said. “We’re maneuvering around the challenges and the impacts of the geopolitics and the region.”
The pledge builds on €34 billion the UAE has already invested in Germany, he added.
Al Zeyoudi accompanied UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in his first official state visit to Germany since 2019, when he was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
The visit, including a meeting with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and a state dinner hosted by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, entailed widespread street closures and transport disruptions in the German capital. The Emirati leader was afforded Germany’s highest security level, with some 1,300 police personnel involved in the measures.
The UAE is hoping that, by deploying its vast budget power toward a wider array of international partners, it can pave the way to securing vital supply chains and potentially attracting production of equipment locally to bypass any export constraints.
Germany has vowed to build Europe’s strongest army by 2039 to deter Russia and, in a February tour of the Gulf that preceded the Iran war, Merz said he would be open to bolstering defense cooperation with the region.
Emirati and Saudi leaders have themselves sought to gain a stronger diplomatic foothold among European capitals, even as Washington remains the principal ally for Gulf nations.
In a visit to Paris last month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled an array of deals from technology to defense, including a €6 billion theme park. MBZ, as the UAE president is known, capped a trip to France last year with a pledge to invest as much as €50 billion.
Abu Dhabi also made commitments to invest $40 billion in Italy and $51 billion in Turkey.
The UAE has been among US President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies, pledging about $1.4 trillion in investments and cultivating commercial ties with his family. That relationship — and the US military bases it hosts — placed Abu Dhabi squarely in sight of Iran’s retaliation, with thousands of missiles and drones fired toward its territory.