U.S. President Donald Trump Middle East tour highlights a shift in American foreign policy. Assoc Prof Saeed Khan from Wayne State University shares what this means for global power dynamics and the future of technological leadership.
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00:00U.S. President Donald Trump's recent Middle East tour highlights a growing shift in American foreign policy,
00:07one increasingly shaped by the region's rising influence.
00:10Beyond traditional diplomacy, Gulf states, particularly the UAE, are asserting themselves in the global tech arena,
00:18with Abu Dhabi's early investment in AI, including a dedicated AI ministry, positioning the country as a regional leader.
00:25What does this mean for global power dynamics and the future of technological leadership?
00:31We put forth that question to Associate Professor Saeed Khan of Wayne State University.
00:37I think it's interesting that President Trump visited Riyadh first.
00:45One can go ahead and make certain assumptions that Saudi Arabia is the largest country out of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
00:52His very close ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or MBS suggests that this would be then the obvious destination.
01:02But when it comes to enhanced investment, we also see then that Riyadh now appears to have an inside track.
01:09It has pledged, and the Washington establishment, as well as the United States more broadly through its entrepreneur class,
01:19seems to be very interested in supporting the development of Saudi Arabia's tech sector, particularly artificial intelligence.
01:28That, until now, seemed to have been within the exclusive domain of Abu Dhabi.
01:35In fact, the United Arab Emirates created a new precedent by establishing a ministry of AI a few years ago.
01:45So it had already the infrastructure in place and perhaps was really positioning itself to be that hub for advanced technology and particularly for AI.
01:56And now I think that that is a question that's a little bit more up in the air that Saudi Arabia with its far more vast resources seems to now be looking to have that be perhaps one of its crowning features and assets.
02:14The fact that the fact that the president announced that while there's going to be probably one trillion dollars in investment from the Gulf states to the United States,
02:26600 billion of that, so 60 percent, is coming just from Saudi Arabia.
02:31So when it comes to the mathematics of it and the economics of it, it looks like the rivalries between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and Doha are taking on interesting dimensions now.
02:45And perhaps Riyadh, as I said before, has the inside track on this particular issue as well.