Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Saudi Arabia for meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and business leaders, as he seeks to deepen bilateral trade and investment.
Carney will take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum and is later scheduled to speak with reporters.
Jeff Steiner, chair of the Canada-Saudi Arabia Business Council, told reporters in Jeddah that Carney’s visit to the kingdom is a “high-water mark” for relations between the two countries.
Canada has been working to mend bilateral ties following a diplomatic row in 2018 that resulted in the removal of ambassadors in both countries.
The government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau had sharply criticized the kingdom’s justice system and treatment of women, resulting in Saudi Arabia shuttering trade talks. Ambassadors were only restored in 2023.
“We’re moving from reconciliation to seeing what opportunities there are when trust has been rebuilt, to build on that trust and to kind of grow prosperity and opportunities for both Canadians and for Saudis,” Steiner said.
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He said most Canadians only think of oil when they think about Saudi Arabia, but there are now many opportunities for Canadians in areas such as health care, energy, tourism and education.
Steiner pointed to mining and critical minerals in particular, noting Saudi Arabia has embarked on “making mining their second pillar.”
The prime minister’s meetings Thursday include Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar al Khorayef, and Bob Wilt, the head of Saudi state-owned mining company Ma’aden.
The Canadian delegation travelling with Carney includes Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Defence Minister David McGuinty, Defence Investment Agency CEO Doug Guzman and Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi.
Steiner said he knows that Champagne is working on resolving issues around double taxation between the two countries and foreign-investment protection.
“Those frictions coming down are just as important as the interest of investors in business to come to the different markets. If it’s too difficult, they’ll go elsewhere.”
Carney is nearing the end of his weeklong trip in the Middle East. He arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday night fresh from a NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey.
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