Imad Fund and AIMEC corridor see UAE and India merge energy and minerals with artificial intelligence computing
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Behind the scenes of the BRICS 2026 summit, high-level strategic talks brought together Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, focusing on expanding the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure and critical minerals topped the bilateral agenda, alongside defence, space, food security and the development of logistics and technology connectivity routes.
Linking strategic energy infrastructure with the AIMEC corridor represents a new pathway for expanding the bilateral alliance.Modi said the talks focused on tapping the latent opportunities in investment relations, energy projects and the India-Middle East-Europe corridor, stressing that strengthening the India-UAE partnership constitutes a pillar of stability, prosperity and security amid the rapidly accelerating regional volatility in West Asia, and underscoring the depth of political and commercial ties between the two countries.
These talks come to cap a continuous diplomatic and economic trajectory in 2026, as India received UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in January 2026, followed by an official visit by the Indian prime minister to the UAE in May 2026. India praised the UAE’s active and constructive participation in BRICS summit activities under its chairmanship, with the two sides agreeing to maintain close coordination through the multilateral platform to serve shared priorities, while lauding tangible progress in nuclear energy, innovation and advanced technology.
The name of the ‘Al-Imad’ fund, as the newest UAE sovereign investment fund, emerged as a pivotal investment tool for deepening this partnership.Both sides considered the fund qualified to play a leading role in driving joint investments to achieve mutual benefits, reflecting a shift in economic cooperation from traditional exchanges to sovereign-capital instruments aimed at long-term infrastructure projects that touch vital supply chains, strategic technologies and cross-border connectivity.
From an analytical perspective for observers in Gulf, Egyptian and regional business centers, bundling artificial intelligence with critical minerals and energy infrastructure in a single negotiation package carries a clearly practical significance. Developing advanced computing systems and hyperscale data centres in the region now requires securing stable energy sources, reliable logistics-link networks and safe supply chains for metals and core components. The AIMEC corridor, through this coordination, goes beyond the notion of physical transport routes to become an integrated digital and industrial connectivity corridor between South Asia and the Middle East.
This direction outlines new parameters for technical and institutional leaders in the region: mobilising sovereign liquidity through new funds such as ‘Al-Imad’ to support energy, mineral and connectivity projects means that the cost of hosting models and building data centres will depend on countries’ ability to secure cross-border partnerships that provide low-emission energy sources and reliable infrastructure, requiring the alignment of technology-expansion strategies with the emerging regional connectivity networks.