Qatar finance minister says AI to be big part of US investments, UK-Gulf trade deal close

RIYADH (Reuters) -Qatar's finance minister said on Tuesday that artificial intelligence would be a big part of planned Qatari investments in the United States. "I would say most of the (QIA investment) will be in technology and AI because we see the growth in this field, and it is going to be rewarding," Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari said, speaking in Riyadh at the annual Future Investment Initiative conference. "Now we see the huge growth in the U.S. economy is coming from technology and AI and we believe this is one area we are going to focus on," he said. The Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, plans to at least double its annual U.S. investments in the next decade, its CEO said in May. The fund had already pledged to invest $500 billion in the U.S. economy over the next 10 years. Al-Kuwari also highlighted the importance of the sector for diversifying Qatar's own economy and reducing its dependence on hydrocarbon income. Speaking alongside his British counterpart Rachel Reeves, Kuwari said a trade agreement between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council was "almost done". Reeves said on Monday she was confident a trade deal with Gulf countries could be done quickly after she had "really good" meetings about an agreement that could help her plan to speed up economic growth. (Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Andrew Mills in Dubai; Writing by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Michael Georgy and Aidan Lewis)

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