Canada and Saudi Arabia signed more than USD 1 billion (approximately EGP 49.6 billion) worth of agreements and memoranda of understanding across sectors including artificial intelligence, mining, health technology, infrastructure, and defence during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Jeddah on Thursday 9, July.
The visit marked the first by a Canadian prime minister to Saudi Arabia in 26 years and comes as Ottawa seeks to diversify its trade partnerships and strengthen economic ties beyond the United States.
Carney met the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and participated in the Saudi-Canadian Investment Forum, where he praised the Kingdom’s economic transformation efforts under Vision 2030.
“I complimented His Royal Highness this afternoon on many things: his leadership, his vision, his attention, execution and action,” Carney said during remarks at the forum.
According to the Canadian government, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation across trade, technology, mining and natural resources, energy, health, education, and defence.
The agreements are expected to support Canadian participation in Saudi mining and clean energy projects, infrastructure developments linked to Vision 2030, and the expansion of Canadian healthcare technologies in the Kingdom.
The two countries also signed agreements aimed at increasing cooperation in artificial intelligence and investment, while Canadian AI company Cohere and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN announced a strategic partnership to support the development of next-generation AI models.
Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif said 625 Canadian companies currently operate in Saudi Arabia, adding that the Kingdom issued around 250 licences to Canadian firms in 2025, double the number issued the previous year.
The two governments also announced plans to establish a Canada-Saudi Arabia Coordination Council and to conclude negotiations on an investment protection agreement by early 2027.
Following the forum, Carney said on LinkedIn that Canada and Saudi Arabia were “ready to build big, together,” describing the gathering as an opportunity to turn shared ambitions into new investments and partnerships.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil dependency through investments in sectors including technology, tourism, renewable energy, and logistics.
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