German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Chancellery in Berlin on 10 September 2026 Credit: Bundesregierung/Jesco Denzel The United Arab Emirates plans to invest €40bn ($46.4bn) in Germany, including in new data centres with a combined capacity of about one gigawatt. The two countries announced the package in a joint declaration on 10 September. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was on a state visit to Germany, where he met Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The package includes “investments in advanced digital infrastructure, including the development of new state-of-the-art data centres with a capacity of approximately 1 GW,” the declaration says.
Germany committed to “fostering a favourable environment for their implementation”. Hugh Leask reported the plan for CNBC. What the declaration says The visit ran from 9 to 11 September, at the invitation of the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. It was the first state visit to Germany by a UAE president, according to the declaration.
Both sides expect the package to strengthen industrial competitiveness, advance technological leadership and support long-term growth in Germany, the text says. Merz and Sheikh Mohamed also set up a Strategic Dialogue. It is meant to revive the comprehensive strategic partnership the two countries founded in 2004. The declaration does not say which companies will build the data centres, where they will be or when.
AFP and Investment Monitor also noted the missing details. The German government’s own summary describes the package as investment in digital infrastructure and new data centres. It gives no capacity figure. The two sides also signed a declaration of intent to set up a German-UAE Investment Council.
It is meant to advance investment and strengthen ties between the public and private sectors. Companies from both countries signed 29 memorandums of understanding and agreements, worth more than €9.356bn in total, according to the declaration. The Bavarian share CNBC, citing reports, said about €10bn would go to Bavaria. The UAE state news agency WAM said Sheikh Mohamed met Bavaria’s minister-president, Markus Söder, in Munich.
According to WAM, the UAE pledged €10bn for Bavaria, as part of the €40bn package. The money covers industry, advanced technology, AI, data centres, digital infrastructure and energy security, WAM reported. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Bavarian government exchanged a declaration of intent on strategic investment. Data embassies and AI The two countries signed a separate declaration of intent on data.
It covers “the exploration of cooperation on Data Hosting and Information systems through the establishment of Data Embassies,” the joint declaration says. According to the text, the cooperation will explore “a new model of technology diplomacy through secure and resilient digital infrastructure”. Both sides also committed to expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. That includes exchange, investment, research and joint development, according to the declaration.
Energy, defence and trade Outside the €40bn package, the leaders welcomed further plans involving Covestro, RWE, ADNOC and Masdar. They build on existing UAE investments, including the energy group XRG’s investment of about €15bn in the German chemicals maker Covestro, according to the declaration. Energy cooperation covers LNG, renewables and hydrogen. The two sides signed letters of intent on exploring defence cooperation and on police and security cooperation.
They agreed to take defence ties “beyond a supplier-and-recipient dynamic”, the declaration says. Non-oil trade between the two countries reached $15.5bn in 2025, up more than 14% on 2024. Investment flows between them exceeded $10bn from 2021 to 2025, according to the declaration. CNBC reported that the UAE has already invested about €34bn in Germany, including in chemicals and renewable energy.
The UAE is negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU. Germany supports “a comprehensive, commercially ambitious agreement”, the declaration says. What officials and analysts said “The UAE invests for the long term and builds partnerships that endure,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE’s industry minister, according to AFP. The UAE’s foreign trade minister, Thani Al Zeyoudi, spoke to Bloomberg TV in Berlin on Thursday.
He said the UAE is “very keen” to connect its economy, trade and investments with economic hubs around the world. Paul Musgrave is an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar. He told CNBC that the UAE, like all Gulf countries, wants to diversify its overseas portfolio and build an economy beyond oil. Abu Dhabi is also looking at investments in supply chains and corporations for strategic purposes, he said, “including, of course, developing new friends and influence in Europe”.
He also described the benefit for Berlin. “Germany is in a bit of an economic doldrums right now, it needs to have something that Chancellor Merz can deliver as a win,” Musgrave said. The UAE’s wider AI spending The UAE’s AI spending reaches well beyond Germany. Abu Dhabi says its financial centre holds $100bn of AI capital. G42, the Abu Dhabi AI group, has given up Huawei and let Washington monitor its data centres.
At home, the UAE is splitting up its $30bn AI data centre after Iran named it as a target. The joint declaration condemned Iran’s attacks on the UAE and its de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In Germany, the energy company Uniper announced a €5bn data centre plan in August. The EU’s €20bn plan for five AI gigafactories ran into delays in June.
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