Qatar and UAE to enter U.S. backed ‘Pax Silica’ tech pact

Two Gulf countries are getting ready to sign onto an American-led program that’s focused on protecting technology and computer chip supply networks. That’s according to a senior U.S. official who spoke with Reuters.

Jacob Helberg, who’s the Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs in the Trump administration, said Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will be joining the Pax Silica initiative within days.

Shifting from oil to technology

It’s a big deal that these Middle Eastern nations are coming on board, given how much political division the region has seen over the years. What the U.S. is really doing here is trying to get Israel and the Arab Gulf states working together on technology and economic matters.

Qatar’s signing the agreement on Jan. 12. The UAE will follow three days later on Jan. 15. The group’s already got Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Britain, and Australia as members.

Pax Silica, sometimes called the Silicon Declaration, covers pretty much the whole technology supply network. That means everything from raw materials to sophisticated manufacturing, computer systems, and data storage. For the Trump administration, this is a key piece of their economic strategy, as they want to depend less on rival countries and build up cooperation with friendly ones.

Helberg explained, “The Silicon Declaration isn’t just a diplomatic communiqué. It’s meant to be an operational document for a new economic security consensus.”

This isn’t your typical alliance, according to Helberg. Pax Silica works as a “coalition of capabilities.” Countries join based on their industries’ capabilities and the companies they possess.

Helberg hopes the program will help the Middle East move faster toward a different kind of economy. The region has relied on oil and gas money for a long time, but this could push things more toward technology.

“For the UAE and Qatar, this marks a shift from a hydrocarbon-centric security architecture to one focused on silicon statecraft,” he said.

All this is happening while Saudi Arabia gets ready to host The Future Minerals Forum. It’s a government-run conference about minerals and supply networks that’ll bring together senior officials, business leaders, and investors in Riyadh from January 13–15.

Future plans and strategic projects

Helberg laid out what the group wants to do this year. They’ll be working on getting more members, putting together strategic projects for supply chain security, and getting their policies lined up to protect critical infrastructure and technology.

The group met in Washington last month. Helberg said he’s expecting a few more meetings this year.

There are ongoing talks about projects that could modernize trade and transportation routes. The India-Middle East-Europe Corridor is one example. It would utilize advanced American technology to boost regional connections and grow the U.S. economic presence.

U.S. and Israeli officials are preparing to roll out a new Pax Silica Strategic Framework. It includes plans for “Fort Foundry One,” an industrial park in Israel designed to fast-track development, and talks on AI cooperation, with a possible memorandum of understanding as soon as January 16.

That marks a shift from the Biden administration’s earlier Mineral Security Partnership, which Helberg described as more of a “buyers’ club” dominated by wealthy economies like Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Six of the eight countries that participated—Australia, Britain, Japan, Israel, Singapore, and South Korea—signed the summit declaration. There’s language in there about “non-market practices,” which is what Washington usually says when they’re criticizing Beijing.

Japan and the United States signed their own separate agreement about how they’ll handle economic security together. Helberg mentioned that Pax Silica actually came out of talks between the two countries.

Each country that’s participating brings something specific to the table, Berry noted. Japan’s got advanced machinery. The Netherlands has lithography machines that etch circuits on computer chips.

There are some countries that aren’t included, which raises eyebrows. India didn’t get invited even though they’ve got artificial intelligence ambitions, and they’re becoming more important to global technology supply chains and U.S. strategy. Vietnam and New Zealand got left out, too.

Berry thought it was surprising that New Zealand wasn’t included, especially since they’re part of Five Eyes intelligence sharing. Though he said it makes more sense when you look at it from a technology and trade angle. Vietnam not being there was more confusing to him. A lot of companies trying to move production out of China have picked Vietnam. Maybe they’re holding Vietnam back as something to use for negotiating later.

“My sense with respect to Vietnam and India is that there’s perhaps a larger game being played … to try and counterbalance China’s growth,” Berry said.

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