Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addresses troops during President Donald Trump’s visit to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, May 15, 2025. The following day in the United Arab Emirates, Hegseth and his UAE counterpart, Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, signed a letter of intent to establish a major defense partnership between the two countries. (Sean Moriarty/U.S. Air Force)

The Pentagon plans to establish a major defense partnership with the United Arab Emirates, a rare designation that could pave the way for joint arms development and closer military ties between the U.S. and a key nation in the Middle East.

The letter of intent, signed Friday in Abu Dhabi by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and UAE Defense Minister Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, is intended to jump-start bilateral cooperation, the Defense Department said Monday in a statement.

Part of the collaboration includes a new deal between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and the UAE’s Tawazun Council to conduct joint research and development.

The UAE is also entering the U.S. National Guard State Partnership Program, where it will be paired with the Texas National Guard to bolster military modernization efforts and work on combined air and missile defense, cybersecurity and disaster response, the Pentagon statement said.

The pact follows President Donald Trump’s visit to the region last week, which included a stop in the UAE.

The administration also recently signed off on $1.4 billion in military sales to the nation, which drew criticism from some congressional Democrats, who raised humanitarian concerns about the UAE’s role in ongoing conflicts in Sudan.

The major defense partner designation institutionalizes a relationship that already had been close, with the UAE making large investments in U.S. weaponry in recent decades.

India signed a similar agreement with the U.S. in 2016, which led to further security agreements and expanded access to U.S. defense equipment.