Meeting on AI, Economic Diversification and Technological Cooperation in the Gulf

In Madrid on May 13, Casa Árabe organized a meeting with companies and experts at which researcher Sara Bazoobandi, from the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, spoke about the processes of digitalization and AI development in the Gulf, within the context of the technological race between theU.S. and China, as well as their geopolitical and economic implications. 

Organized with the cooperation of Spain’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CEARC) and the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), initial reactions and comments before opening the discussion to the audience were given by Haizam Amirah Fernández, Executive Director of CEARC, who analyzed potential future scenarios for the current geopolitical situation, Francisco Sanchez Quintana, Head of Technology and Innovation Programs for the Middle East and Egypt at the CDTI, who spoke about Spain’s technological cooperation with countries in the region, and Jorge Martos Pardo, Head of AI Business Development / Data, AI and RPA Practice at Indra. 

Technology: An Imperative for Diversification in the Region 
Bazoobandi presented technological commitment as an imperative for the economic diversification of these countries and their independence, an independence whose alliances will also be shaken up in a landscape of geopolitical and economic changes which are still difficult to foresee. 

The war against Iran is profoundly disrupting not only oil markets and international trade but also the role played by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the global economic system. Over the past two decades, having embarked on ambitious economic plans to diversify their economies beyond just a reliance on oil and position themselves as hubs or strategic global centers for finance, logistics, tourism and, more recently, new technologies and digitalization, some Gulf countries are now facing difficult dilemmas, not only regarding their own security but also their fundamental economic, political, and technological alliances. 

Commitment to AI and Data Centers 
Almost all of the region’s flagship national strategies (such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031, with the development of G42: Abu Dhabi’s leading AI holding group, and the various AI development initiatives in Qatar) involve significant investments in new technologies, digitalization and AI while helping to reshape fields such as health care, finance, smart cities and public services. In fact, some countries, such as the UAE, have been pioneers in this field, becoming the first to appoint a minister specifically dedicated to AI as early as 2017, with over $100billion in investments committed to AI, followed by Saudi Arabia, with over $15 billion in AI investments, and Qatar (with $2.5 billion in AI/digitalization). 

The creation of large data centers in these countries forms part of these strategies with the goal of achieving digital and technological independence, driven by access to cheap, abundant electricity and their geostrategic position, but also by the Trump administration’s policy shift, which shifted from restricting to promoting the export of microchips to countries in the region. The U.S. is home to major tech companies such as NVIDIA, which holds between 80% and 90% of the global market in microchips, a key component for building the data centers that power AI. In May 2025, after Trump traveled to the Gulf, the export of 500,000 chips/year was approved to the UAE and 18,000 chips to Saudi Arabia, in exchange for a commitment of 1.4 trillion dollars in investments in the U.S.