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The commitment was announced after UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, with the two leaders characterising the trip as a defining moment for bilateral relations and the wider international order according to a joint declaration. Sheikh Mohamed’s visit from September 9 to 11 at the invitation of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier marked the first state visit by a UAE president to Germany. UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who also serves as envoy to Germany, emphasised the long-term nature of the partnership.
The fresh €40 billion pledge adds to the UAE’s existing investments in Germany valued at €34 billion, a joint declaration from the two governments stated, potentially bringing combined stakes above €74 billion if fully realised. The package targets sectors including industry, artificial intelligence, advanced technology and energy to support Germany’s industrial base. German officials committed to creating a favourable environment for implementation of the projects.
Investments in advanced digital infrastructure will feature new data centres with a total capacity of about 1 gigawatt, the joint declaration detailed. Roughly €10 billion of the total will flow to projects in the southern state of Bavaria. The announcement aligns with broader efforts to enhance cooperation across security, defence, trade and energy transition.
UAE and German companies signed 29 agreements and memoranda exceeding €9.4 billion during the visit, according to the two sides. Separate pacts involving ADNOC, XRG and Masdar with German partners such as RWE, Siemens Energy and Covestro could enable more than €5 billion in additional energy and industrial investments, an ADNOC statement issued the following day showed. These build upon longstanding energy links that already meet the equivalent power needs of four million German households.
Bilateral non-oil trade reached $15.5 billion in 2025, a rise of more than 14 percent from the prior year, trade figures cited in reports by AGBI indicate. The leaders welcomed the launch of a UAE-Germany Investment Council to pinpoint commercially viable opportunities and address barriers in priority sectors. Al Jaber described Germany as an important strategic and economic partner.
The minister added that the additional investment reflects the UAE’s ambition to deepen that relationship for years ahead, as quoted by Bloomberg. Further corporate partnerships are planned beyond the initial package. The developments come as both nations navigate supply chain disruptions and seek to strengthen economic resilience.
