President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf comes at a moment of opportunity – far beyond defence contracts and photo ops.
As the US confronts a rapidly evolving global technological landscape, this trip should mark the beginning of a new chapter: a strategic partnership between America and the Gulf states built not only on oil and arms but on cells, science and the future of biotechnology.
In the 20th century American power was shaped by its industrial base, military alliances and control over global energy flows.
But in the 21st century that foundation is shifting. Breakthroughs in synthetic biology, mRNA platforms and gene editing are reshaping everything from healthcare and food systems to national security. Biotechnology is emerging not just as a commercial sector – but as a pillar of geopolitical strength.
If the US intends to lead in this domain, it must think globally – and build new partnerships to match the stakes.
One overlooked yet promising frontier lies in the Gulf. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are aggressively investing in life sciences, creating the conditions for a next-generation alliance. America should seize this opportunity – starting now.
China saw the strategic value of biotechnology long before most. As early as 2010, Beijing labelled biotech a “strategic emerging industry”. Since then, it has built biotech parks, funded dual-use research (innovations that can have beneficial or harmful results) and enabled the global expansion of companies such as BGI Group, which are now under scrutiny for links to the Chinese military.
A recent National Security Commission on Emerging Biology report says China surpassed the US in biotech advances – an early indicator of scientific momentum. But Beijing’s ambitions extend far beyond academia. It views biotechnology as essential to health resilience, agricultural productivity and even future forms of warfare. The US-China rivalry is no longer just about chips and code – it now includes cells and genomes.
To its credit, the US government has begun to respond. In 2022, the President Joe Biden administration issued an executive order framing biotech as a national priority.
The same year, a follow-up report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlined a whole-of-government approach to safeguard leadership. Yet the international dimension of that strategy remains underdeveloped.
The opportunity is real – but so is the competition. China is already making inroads
This is where the Gulf comes in.
The Gulf states are no longer content with being passive consumers of pharmaceuticals. They are investing in the infrastructure, regulation and talent needed to become global players in biotechnology. Backed by sovereign wealth funds and long-term national visions, countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar actively cultivate life science ecosystems.
The UAE’s Dubai Science Park already hosts hundreds of life sciences companies and Qatar’s Sidra Medicine is engaged in cutting-edge genomics research with top-tier American institutions. Through its Vision 2030 strategy, Saudi Arabia is rapidly scaling its biotech ambitions – from expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing to launching national genomics programmes and investing via its Public Investment Fund.
These states bring something US biotech urgently needs: capital. With increased scrutiny on Chinese investment in sensitive sectors, American biotech startups seek trusted funding sources. Gulf sovereign wealth funds could fill that gap – fuelling American innovation while strengthening geopolitical alignment.
Next-generation biotech leaders stand to benefit from deeper integration with Gulf capital, infrastructure and markets. What’s needed now is a framework to guide this collaboration.
The opportunity is real – but so is the competition. China is already making inroads. BGI and other Chinese biotech companies are active in the region, offering genomic services and infrastructure support with few governance strings attached. If the US fails to act, it risks ceding strategic ground in both the biological and geopolitical sense.
To counter this, the US should launch a formal US–Gulf biotech initiative, a partnership that includes joint research centres, co-investment vehicles, regulatory alignment dialogues and talent exchanges. It could be modelled on recent collaborations in space and energy but tailored to the sensitivities of dual-use biotechnology.
The goal should be more than risk mitigation – it should be shared leadership in shaping global biotech standards. From bioethics and data governance to cross-border clinical trials and manufacturing resilience, the US and Gulf states are well-positioned to co-develop a framework that other regions can emulate.
This approach would also build on existing trust. The US already cooperates with the Gulf in defence, cybersecurity and emerging technologies. Life sciences are a natural – and necessary – extension of that partnership.
Mohammed Soliman is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a member of McLarty Associates, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
