Name: Carney signs investment agreement with U.A.E. president
Uploaded: 2025-11-20T20:21:29.473Z
Duration: 5 min 23 s
Description: Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a new investment agreement with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday during a visit to Abu Dhabi that has involved limited media access.

Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a new investment agreement with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday during a visit to Abu Dhabi that has involved limited media access.

Abu Dhabi

Mark Carney, accompanied by a Canadian delegation including former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, signed a new investment agreement with the president of the United Arab Emirates during a visit to Abu Dhabi. The agreement is designed to expand Canadian exports in sectors such as aerospace, engineering, and agriculture, while encouraging UAE investment in Canadian infrastructure and energy projects.

The visit also marked the launch of free trade talks between the two nations, as part of Canada's strategy to diversify its trade partners beyond the United States. Security issues in the Middle East and Africa were discussed, though officials did not confirm if Sudan was specifically addressed. The agreement signals a new openness to bilateral investment treaties between Canada and Gulf states.

Carney signs investment agreement with U.A.E. president

Mark Carney is in the United Arab Emirates looking to boost business ties with the Gulf nation. It's part of his ongoing mission to reduce Canada's economic reliance on the United States. Carney met earlier today with the UAE's president. The CBC's Ashley Burke is travelling with the PM and brings us more on the country's latest investment deal. We're in Abu Dhabi where the Prime Minister toured the biggest mosque in the country. It is the only moment of Mark Carney's day that the UAE is allowing Canadian media to film as it restricts access. Behind closed doors before that, Carney met with the UAE's president and signed a new investment agreement. He also launched the start of talks towards a free trade deal. His office says it's a move to expand Canadian aerospace, engineering and agriculture like seafood to the UAE and for the UAE to invest in Canadian projects like ports, mines and liquefied natural gas. Now, this is all part of the Prime Minister's promise to double non-US exports over the next decade because of Donald Trump's trade war. But there is some political risk that comes with deepening ties here right now. The UAE is facing allegations it's supporting a paramilitary force accused of atrocities in Sudan. A claim it denies but that Canadian officials ahead of time said that Canada would likely raise. During the meeting with the UAE's president, we're told that Carney did bring up a range of security issues in the Middle East and Africa but the Prime Minister's office isn't confirming if that includes Sudan. The Prime Minister will also be meeting privately with business executives and attending a dinner hosted by the country's National Security Advisor today. Ashley Burke, CBC News, Abu Dhabi. Now, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest is part of the Prime Minister's delegation to the UAE. He is there as the Canadian co-chair of the Canada-UAE Business Council which aims to promote trade and investment between the two nations. Here's what he had to say just a short time ago about this mission and how it plays into the trade war with the U.S. It's fine that we have the issue with the Americans but, you know, at the end of the day, it's about us. And what it says to Canadians is that there's a bigger world out there than just the United States and if we are going to diversify our trade, if we're going to prosper, we have to go out there and actually drum up some business. And the person who has to lead that is the Prime Minister. These trade agreements, FIPAs, I can tell you from experience, none of this gets done unless the Prime Minister leads. And that's exactly what he's doing. So we're absolutely delighted that he's here. It's exactly what Canada should be doing. So now, the Prime Minister's latest push to diversify Canada's trade partners follows his recent trip to Asia to open up markets there. Just how successful is this strategy, though? Let's stay on that and put that question to Martha Harrison. She's an international trade lawyer and partner at McCarthy Tetrault and she joins us from Toronto. Hello, Martha. Welcome. Thanks, Sarthi. Nice to see you again. So let's start with this big picture here. The Prime Minister has been making trips across the globe to broaden Canada's trading opportunities. How significant is this most recent trip to the UAE? Well, one of the most significant issues around this particular trip is that Canada does not have a wealth of foreign investment protection agreements or treaties, international trade treaties, with the Gulf states. And so, this signals an openness from Canada to engage in these negotiations to encourage bilateral investment between both regions in a manner that hasn't been exercised before. So when we think about what the two countries can offer each other, let's start first with Canada. What does it bring to the table for the UAE when it comes to opening those trade ties or expanding those trade ties? One of the most important features of a bilateral investment treaty, which is the kind of treaty that has been executed now as between Canada and the UAE, is fair protection for foreign investment. So there's no doubt that the most important thing that Canada would be providing the UAE at the moment is a secure investment environment with which to expel their capital. We would also expect that the UAE would be engaging in technology transfers and interested in Canadian technologies in, for example, the defence sector and aerospace sector, and additional more policy-laden exchanges such as education and research collaboration. The UAE is very much interested in that. And importantly for Canada, the UAE is also interested in importing more Canadian food products and agricultural products, which is such a key in the moment when the Prime Minister and Canadian industry is really looking to diversify opportunities as opposed to putting all of the eggs in the U.S. basket. You know, you touch on a number of different sectors there, notably, of course, we also heard from Jean Charest, who was speaking last hour as well, talking about AI, infrastructure, agri-food. What about aluminum and steel, for example? That's a key sector that has been...

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