U.S. President Donald Trump attended a state dinner in Qatar while Ripple executives held key meetings in Dubai.
Both visits occurred amid growing U.S. engagement in the region, underscoring rising interest in financial and technological cooperation between Gulf and American institutions.
Ripple President Meets Dubai Leaders
While Trump, a pro-crypto president, continued his diplomatic engagements in Doha, Ripple leadership gathered in Dubai for the 2025 FinTech Summit. The company’s President, Monica Long, met with United Arab Emirates officials, including Emirates Group Chairman Ahmed bin Saeed.
Our President @MonicaLongSF had the honor of meeting with His Highness Ahmed bin Saeed at @DubaiFintechSum. We continue to be impressed with the leadership demonstrated by Dubai as it establishes itself as one of the world’s leading hubs for digital assets. https://t.co/w9pd0cq1y7
— Ripple (@Ripple) May 14, 2025
Their discussions focused on expanding digital payment infrastructure and driving innovation in financial services. The meeting followed Ripple’s recent approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), granted on March 13, 2025.
The license enabled Ripple to offer regulated digital payment services within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), marking a regional first for a blockchain-based payments provider.
Following the DFSA license, Ripple intensified its efforts across the Middle East, targeting inefficiencies in cross-border payments. The company reported heightened interest from crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions in the region.
According to a 2024 Ripple-conducted survey, 64% of finance executives in the Middle East and Africa cited faster settlement times as blockchain’s key value in international payments.
Trump Holds Talks with Syrian and Qatari Leaders
Meanwhile, President Trump’s diplomatic agenda began in Saudi Arabia, where he held a meeting with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Trump’s regional tour then continued in Doha, where he was welcomed by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The Doha visit included bilateral talks that concluded with several commercial agreements. Among them was a record order of aircraft from Boeing, which the White House stated could generate up to $1.2 trillion in economic value.
During Trump’s tour, several American tech companies revealed new artificial intelligence agreements in the Middle East. The announcements came as U.S. President Donald Trump secured $600 billion worth of business commitments from Saudi Arabia to U.S. firms.
Notably, a government-backed venture fund based in Abu Dhabi is involved in a $2 billion transaction using a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial.
The digital asset, USD1, is linked to the Trump family, which maintains majority ownership of the crypto firm. Current U.S. President Donald Trump is identified as the company’s “chief crypto advocate,” and he and his family are positioned to benefit financially from the transaction.
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