The News
The UAE plans to invest $40 billion in Italy, cutting across sectors including defense, energy, and space.
More than 40 agreements were signed during President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s visit to Rome, where he agreed with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to work toward deepening the countries’ economic partnership.
Among the projects: “blue-powered data centers,” which would run on natural gas but capture emissions from the power plant, and joint investments to secure supply chains for critical minerals.
Earlier in February, during a state visit to Paris, the UAE committed to invest $50 billion in France’s artificial intelligence sector, including the development of a massive data center and dedicated AI campus. The facility is set to become Europe’s largest AI hub with 1 gigawatt of capacity. Abu Dhabi is spreading its bets in the global AI race: MGX, backed by Mubadala and G42, is participating — alongside OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank — in the $500 billion Stargate project announced by US President Donald Trump last month.