Saudi Arabia and Canada on Thursday signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding worth one billion dollars (approximately 3.75 billion riyals), during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, which began on Wednesday to the Kingdom.

Earlier today, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reviewed with Carney aspects of bilateral relations, areas of cooperation, and opportunities for their development across various sectors during an official talks session between the two sides. The discussions also covered regional and international developments and efforts made in this regard.

The official visit, the first of its kind by Carney to Saudi Arabia since he took office in 2025, reflects the Kingdom's stature, weight, and pivotal role internationally.

During the visit, which included the Saudi-Canadian Investment Forum, Carney said that Saudi Arabia is one of the most important pillars of the global economy, pointing to the rapid economic growth in Saudi Arabia and the "tremendous transformations the Kingdom is witnessing under Vision 2030." Carney affirmed that Canada will enhance its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the energy and mining sectors.

The forum is a high-level investment event held in Jeddah on the sidelines of Carney’s visit, bringing together senior officials, investors, financial institutions, and private sector leaders from both countries to deepen investment cooperation and identify priority sector opportunities.

Also read: Saudi Energy Minister discusses investment opportunities with Canadian Prime Minister

Saudi-Canadian Business Forum

Business Forum

The two countries are working to strengthen their trade relations and move them to the stage of "sustainable investment partnership," providing a fertile environment for investors to exchange innovative goods and services.

Bilateral trade volume last year reached about $2.9 billion (approximately 11 billion riyals), of which $1.7 billion were Saudi exports to Canada.

Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said during the forum that Saudi Arabia and Canada share a strong ambition to build more competitive, innovative, and open economies capable of attracting investments.

The minister affirmed that Saudi Arabia is working to build integrated national systems that transform opportunities into promising investment sectors.

He noted that discussions on the agreement for the promotion and protection of investments between Saudi Arabia and Canada represented an important step to enhance confidence, providing a stable and reliable investment environment for investors in both countries.

Chairman of the Saudi-Canadian Business Council Mohammed Al-Dhale'e, in turn, told Asharq Al-Awsat that bilateral trade between the two countries reached 66 billion riyals over the past five years, noting that mining and artificial intelligence are the most prominent areas of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Also read: 66 billion riyals volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Canada in 5 years

625 Canadian companies in the Saudi market

625 Canadian companies operate in the Saudi market, including 13 regional headquarters, according to Al-Falih, who noted that last year alone about 250 investment licenses were issued to Canadian companies, double the number issued the previous year.

Al-Falih affirmed that Saudi Arabia offers high-quality, long-term investment opportunities across various sectors for Canadian companies.

In 2024, the Federation of Saudi Chambers announced a new administrative formation for the Saudi-Canadian Business Council to support efforts to connect businessmen and companies in both countries and maximize the benefit from commercial and investment opportunities.

Also, the Federation of Saudi Chambers opened an office in the Canadian city of Toronto to facilitate links between companies in both countries, organize delegation visits, and coordinate economic events.

Last January, the Saudi-Canadian Business and Investment Forum was held to discuss enhancing the investment partnership between the two countries in digital transformation, infrastructure, and opportunities for empowering the private sector in the Kingdom and Canada.

That forum culminated in the signing of 6 memoranda of understanding worth approximately $600 million, including cooperation initiatives in the sectors of communications, information technology, cybersecurity, education, and manufacturing.

Saudi side during the Saudi-Canadian Business Forum

Saudi-Canadian Business Forum.jpg

Cooperation in the critical minerals sector is a strong opportunity for both sides

Saudi Arabia achieves strong growth and possesses advanced infrastructure and capital, making it a platform for access to regional and global markets, while Canadian companies and institutions have global capabilities in sectors including mining and critical minerals, engineering, financial services, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and skills development.

Cooperation in the critical minerals sector in particular represents a strong opportunity for both sides, as the estimated mineral wealth in Saudi Arabia amounts to about $2.5 trillion across an area exceeding 2.1 million square kilometers.

These enablers provide huge opportunities for Canadian and other international investors. The Saudi Ministry of Investment and the "Invest Saudi" platform will work to connect interested investors with sector opportunities, government entities, and private sector partners.

Saudi Arabia has identified opportunities in more than 50 minerals and is accelerating exploration activities within the Arabian Shield. Canadian companies are already operating in the Kingdom, including Barrick and Ivanhoe Electric with Ma'aden to explore about 48,500 square kilometers.

Also, Manara Minerals, a joint venture between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Ma'aden, holds a 10% stake in Vale Base Metals.

Various Saudi sectors represent opportunities for Canadian investment

The Saudi market also opens wide opportunities for foreign investment institutions, asset managers, insurance and technology companies, including Canadian ones, as the market value of the Saudi financial market reaches about 9.44 trillion riyals (about $2.53 trillion).

In the industrial sector, Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Industrial Strategy have created a long-term platform for industrial investment, as the Kingdom aims to reach 35,000 factories by 2035, with industrial investments approaching 2 trillion riyals.

In contrast, Canada has research capabilities, expertise, and software in artificial intelligence, which is an important aspect for Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom plans to reach 6.6 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2034.

AirTrunk, partially owned by Canadian CPP Investments, is developing an AI data center complex worth $3 billion with the Saudi company HUMAIN.