Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Saudi Arabia, marking the first visit by any Canadian prime minister in 26 years. Canada’s Prime Minister is seeking to expand his country’s economic ties beyond its heavy reliance on the United States. Carney is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday, and he will also address the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum and attend a signing ceremony.
Carney is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday, and he will also address the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum and attending a signing ceremony. The trip highlights Ottawa’s efforts to diversify trade and attract investments as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement highlight Canada’s dependence on the U.S., its largest trading partner.
For its part, Saudi Arabia is also seeking to attract foreign investments as Crown Prince is ambitiously pursuing its goal to open its economy beyond oil. Canada and Saudi Arabia restored its full diplomatic ties in 2023, ending a years-long rift sparked by Canada’s criticism of the kingdom’s human rights records. Back in 2018, Saudi Arabia had expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own after Canada’s foreign minister called for the release of the jailed women’s rights activists. Saudi Arabia froze new trade and investment and sold some Canadian assets, as well as ordered thousands of Saudi Canadians studying in Canada to shift somewhere else.
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Also, in the same year, Prince Mohammed was embroiled in a controversy of the killing of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Carney’s flagship investment agency has delivered a blunt message to the United Arab Emirates officials looking to invest billions of dollars into Canada, that they do not have nowhere to put their money. Three officials speaking on the conditions of anonymity said that Calgary-based major projects office in May-June told an official UAE delegation that it was too soon to inject the UAE capital into Canada.
Carney landed a US$50 billion commitment from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who made the official announcement in November. In mid-June, the Calgary-based agency turned away Emirati officials seeking investment opportunities during the UAE-Canada Business Council meeting hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa, citing a lack of projects at the stage where funds could be deployed.
