UAE announces plans to invest $46B in Germany during MBZ visit

The United Arab Emirates announced plans to invest 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in Germany across sectors, including artificial intelligence, energy and technology, as President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visits Berlin for the first time since 2019.

What happened: Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, who was accompanying Sheikh Mohamed on the visit, announced the investment in a statement on Thursday.

“Germany has been an important strategic and economic partner for decades, and the additional 40 billion euros intended investment reflects our ambition to invest in that relationship for the years ahead,” Jaber said.

The agreements create “opportunities to invest alongside leading German industrial and technology companies, deepen UAE capabilities in strategic sectors and build businesses that can serve growth markets across the Gulf, Asia and Africa,” Jaber said.

The pledge builds on 34 billion euros the UAE has already invested in Germany, he added. Details of the new investments have not been announced.

Sheikh Mohamed’s two-day visit began on Wednesday. It was his first official visit to Germany since 2019. On Thursday, the president was received with military honors by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin before meeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Bundestag. 

Meetings with the two German leaders covered bilateral ties and explored opportunities to deepen cooperation, particularly in the economic and development sectors, according to the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency.

Steinmeier held a state banquet for the delegation on Thursday afternoon before the trip wrapped up. The UAE president is the first to have ever made a state visit to Germany. 

Why it matters: The UAE is Germany’s largest trading partner in the Gulf, with bilateral trade surpassing 13 million euros ($15 billion) last year. Germany exported goods to the Emirates worth around 11 billion euros ($12.8 billion), while imports totaled around 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion).

The visit comes as the US-Iran war continues to devastate the region and pressure economies. Abu Dhabi is a major defense customer for Berlin, frequently ranking in the top 10 buyers of German arms.

The UAE has made major investments in Germany, including in its chemicals and offshore wind industries. 

More than 2,000 German companies maintain a regional presence or headquarters in the UAE, using it as a primary hub to serve Middle Eastern, African and South Asian markets. Among the major German companies are car giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz, rail operator Deutsche Bahn, electronics company Siemens and industrial engineering business ThyssenKrupp. 

Know more: The two presidents last met when the chancellor visited Abu Dhabi in February, shortly before the US-Israeli war against Iran started. On Merz’s trip, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and German energy giant RWE signed a memorandum of understanding on LNG imports over the next decade.