Carney Signs Investment Deal With UAE, Launches Trade Talks

Prime Minister Mark Carney signed an investment pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during his trip to the country this week, and began talks about establishing a new trade pact between the two nations.

Carney met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 20, which was the first in-person bilateral meeting between Canadian and Emirati leaders since 1983. The leaders signed the Canada-UAE Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), which “establishes clearer rules and protections for investors and creates a more predictable environment for two-way investment,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

FIPA is meant to support long-term partnerships between investors in Canada and the UAE, and create a “more predictable environment” for two-way investment, the PMO said. The goal is to support partnerships between industries in the two countries and attract capital to nation-building projects in Canada, in turn creating jobs for workers.

The two leaders also began negotiations toward a Canada-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that would reduce tariffs, remove trade barriers, and expand market access for Canadian exporters. The PMO said businesses related to engineering, construction, aerospace, and agriculture will be able to expand into the UAE, and that country will make investments into Canadian mines, ports, data centres, critical minerals, and liquid natural gas.

Total trade between Canada and the UAE was valued at $3.4 billion in 2024, with $2.6 billion in exports and $800 million in imports, according to PMO stats. Additionally, more than 150 Canadian companies have an operational presence in the UAE.

 Carney and bin Zayed Al Nahyan also discussed regional security issues such as humanitarian aid to Palestine, as well as ways to move “swiftly” to bring stability to the country.

Carney will deliver a keynote speech on Nov. 21 at the Canada-UAE Investment Summit, which is being hosted by the Canada-UAE Business Council, before flying to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa. While in that country, he is expected to have discussions with other world leaders.

U.S. President Donald Trump will not attend the G20 Summit. He boycotted it earlier this year after accusing the South African government of racially discriminating against the minority Afrikaner population by stealing their land and failing to respond to attacks against Afrikaner farmers. South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa has said these claims are untrue and attacks against rural Afrikaners are rare. 

Carney’s trip to the UAE is part of Ottawa’s attempts to obtain investment in Canadian projects as it looks to diversify Canada’s trade away from the United States in the face of the ongoing trade dispute between the two countries.

Trump visited the UAE in May and pledged to strengthen ties with the country by deepening cooperation on AI, and announcing deals totalling more than $200 billion. The White House said this included a $14.5 billion commitment for a UAE airline to invest in 28 Boeing 787 and 777x aircraft.