General Electric’s $8 billion joint venture with Mubadala Development Co to provide commercial finance in the Middle East and Africa sounds like an excellent idea for both parties. It also happens to reflect impeccable timing for GE as the U.S.-based global conglomerate struggles on its home turf.

Under the deal, each party will invest $4 billion over three years. That $8 billion will then be leveraged up to five times with debt — which means that as much as $40 billion could be invested in the Middle East and Africa.

It’s a win-win situation. GE, with an open-ended investment horizon, will benefit from orders for Abu Dhabi’s “carbon-neutral, zero-waste” Masdar City. There is sure to be plenty of demand for GE’s clean-energy technology there.

It’s also a good time for GE to be investing in emerging markets — the conglomerate’s shares have taken a beating this year due to concerns about its consumer and commercial finance units, hurt by weak U.S. consumer confidence.

Moreover, as analysts have pointed out, GE gets a floor on its stock price — Mubadala said it plans to become one of GE’s 10 largest shareholders over time. That would mean buying, at the very least, nearly $3 billion of GE shares in the open market. (GE’s current tenth-largest institutional shareholder, Wellington Management Co, owns 101.3 million shares worth about $2.96 billion).

For Mubadala too, it’s a great deal. It’s a different type of investment for the fast-growing Abu Dhabi-backed investment and development arm which owns, among many other things, a 7.5-percent stake in private equity firm Carlyle Group and a 5-percent stake in Ferrari.

This deal allows access to GE technology, products, services and knowledge — invaluable elements for a developing economy.

And expect more from Mubadala. The investment vehicle, which manages more than $10 billion in assets, said earlier this year it is planning more acquisitions in aerospace, energy and real estate.