WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - A Microsoft ( MSFT ) deal to

invest $1.5 billion in G42 is "generally a positive development"

because it forced the United Arab Emirates-based company to

sever ties to China's Huawei, a White House official said on

Monday.

"In a place like UAE...where you had G42 working very

closely with Huawei, for example, we have an interest in

changing that picture," White House technology advisor Tarun

Chhabra said at an event in Washington D.C. "We see...the effort

to work with Microsoft ( MSFT ) as an alternative to Huawei is generally

a positive development and one that we want to encourage," he

added.