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UAE blocks meetings between AI firm G42 and US congressional staffers, spokesperson says
WASHINGTON,
July 29 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates scuttled meetings this
month between U.S. Congressional staffers and G42 after U.S. lawmakers
raised concerns the Emirati AI firm could transfer powerful U.S. AI
technology to China, according to a congressional spokesperson.
The
UAE Ambassador to the U.S. "personally intervened" to stop staffers
from the House Select Committee on China from meeting G42 and Emirati
government officials, said the person, who was briefed on the
cancellations and declined to be named because of internal committee
policies.
U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about a $1.5 billion investment by Microsoft (MSFT.O)
in G42, fearing sensitive technology could be transferred to the UAE firm, which has historic ties to China.
"The
committee has even more concerns about the G42-Microsoft deal given the
UAE refusal to meet with congressional staff to discuss these issues.
As a result, expect Congress to get more involved in oversight of these
negotiations," the committee spokesperson told Reuters.
The
canceled meetings could signal diplomatic fallout from growing efforts
by China hardliners in Congress to scrutinize the G42-Microsoft deal and
rein in the flow of sensitive AI technology to the Middle East over
fears of diversion to China.
The State Department declined to comment. A spokesperson for G42 refers questions to the Emirati government.
A
spokesperson for the UAE embassy said: "There clearly was a
miscommunication around the visit" noting that the UAE Embassy "was only
made aware of the staff delegation shortly before it was about to
arrive."
The
Embassy has met and talked with many of the Committee's members and
staffers in recent months, the spokesperson said. "The Committee has
been briefed regularly as the UAE and U.S. work to strengthen the
control of advanced technologies critical to both countries’ shared
security interests."
The
staffers had sought the meetings as part of a regional visit on July
16-19 to discuss the transfer of sophisticated chips from companies like
Nvidia (NVDA.O)
According to the spokesperson, Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba cited a July 11 letter
sent by committee chairman John Moolenaar to U.S. National Security
Advisory Jake Sullivan seeking an intelligence assessment of Microsoft's
investment in G42.
The
July letter, also signed by House Foreign Affairs chair Michael McCaul,
sought the White House briefing before Microsoft's investment in G42
could advance to a second phase involving the transfer of
export-restricted semiconductor chips from Nvidia and model weights,
sophisticated data that improves an AI model's ability to emulate human
reasoning.
The
Biden administration imposed sweeping new curbs on AI chip exports last
year in a bid to cut off more avenues for China to obtain them,
imposing a licensing requirement on their shipment to the UAE and other
Middle Eastern countries.
The Biden administration has defended the G42-Microsoft deal, because it forced G42 to sever ties to China's Huawei.
The
regional visit, which included staffers from both the Democratic and
Republican parties, also included a meeting with Saudi officials, who
"were very eager to meet with the delegation and expressed a strong
desire to address any U.S. concerns about (Chinese government)
activities in Saudi Arabia to receive permission to import U.S. advanced
chips," the spokesperson added.
Reporting by Alexandra Alper; editing by Chris Sanders and Sonali Paul