The Saudi-Canadian Investment Forum, held in Jeddah with the participation of high-level officials, investors, financial institutions, and private sector leaders from both countries, represents a new phase of investment partnership, capability integration, enhanced economic cooperation, broader horizons for quality investments, deepened investment collaboration, and identification of priority sector opportunities for the two friendly nations.

The forum, held on the sidelines of the Canadian Prime Minister's visit to the Kingdom, focused on several strategic sectors, including mining and critical minerals, financial services, advanced industries, artificial intelligence and data centers, and skills development—sectors where Canadian expertise aligns with the Kingdom's national development priorities.

The forum serves as a practical investment milestone within a renewed Saudi-Canadian partnership, bringing together decision-makers from both countries to identify opportunities, build partnerships, and support follow-up in priority sectors, as the Kingdom and Canada move toward a new phase of investment partnership based on capability integration, mutual respect, and a shared ambition for long-term growth.

Within the framework of Vision 2030, the Kingdom offers a wide scope for growth, reform momentum, advanced infrastructure, capital, and a platform for access to regional and global markets. In return, Canadian companies and institutions possess global capabilities in mining and critical minerals, engineering, financial services, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and skills development. Through this integration, the two countries can transform the renewed bilateral momentum into valuable partnerships, projects, and chains that support industrial growth, innovation, economic diversification, and shared prosperity.

Saudi Arabia and Canada aim to turn capability integration into practical investment opportunities. The forum connects the demand of Vision 2030 with Canadian expertise, capital, and innovation in vital areas such as minerals, artificial intelligence, finance, advanced industries, and skills. Moreover, cooperation opportunities between the two sides are not limited to investment in the Kingdom but extend to growth from the Kingdom into regional and global markets.

The forum represents a practical investment milestone within a renewed Saudi-Canadian partnership. It brings together decision-makers from both countries to identify opportunities, build partnerships, and support follow-up in priority sectors, building on the existing relationship between the two sides, which is moving toward strengthening investment by leveraging the integrated capabilities of both countries to launch projects and partnerships with long-term economic value. Both sides prioritize sectors such as mining and critical minerals, financial services, advanced industries, artificial intelligence, data centers, and skills development—areas where Canadian expertise clearly aligns with the Kingdom's national priorities.

Cooperation in the critical minerals sector represents a strong opportunity for both sides. Canada is a global leader in mining and mining finance, while the Kingdom is working to establish mining as a key pillar of economic diversification. This opens opportunities in exploration, services, processing, value-added chains, and collaboration in critical minerals.

While the Kingdom offers a wide range of opportunities for Canadian and other international investors, long-term demand, advanced infrastructure, access to regional markets, reform momentum, and a clear investment journey through the Ministry of Investment and the 'Invest in Saudi Arabia' platform, Canadian companies and institutions bring globally recognized capabilities in sectors pivotal to Saudi Vision 2030, including mining, engineering, institutional capital, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and technical education. The Ministry of Investment and the 'Invest in Saudi Arabia' platform will work to connect interested investors with sector opportunities, government entities, private sector partners, incentives, and practical information related to the investor journey.

The Kingdom's mineral wealth is estimated at around $2.5 trillion across an area exceeding 2.1 million square kilometers. The Kingdom has identified opportunities in over 50 minerals and is accelerating exploration activities within the Arabian Shield.

Canadian companies and capital are already operating in the Kingdom, including Barrick and Ivanhoe Electric's collaboration with Ma'aden to explore approximately 48,500 km². Manara Minerals, a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund and Ma'aden, holds a 10% stake in Vale Base Metals, strengthening shared Saudi-Canadian interests in copper and nickel.

Mining represents the strongest proof point for the Saudi-Canadian partnership, as it combines Canadian expertise, Saudi mineral potential, and a reliable global story linked to critical minerals and supply chains.

The Kingdom offers Canadian capital a deeper path toward a vital regional financial ecosystem, where Canadian investment institutions, asset managers, insurance companies, fintech firms, and financial service providers can participate in the growth of capital markets, debt, sukuk, insurance, and venture capital in the Kingdom.

The market capitalization of the Saudi financial market reached approximately SAR 9.44 trillion, or about $2.53 trillion, as of June 2026 according to the figures adopted by the forum. Foreign investor access has expanded, providing a clearer path for international institutions to participate in the growth of the Saudi market.

The Kingdom represents one of the deepest regional platforms for debt instruments, sukuk, venture capital, insurance, and asset management. The Kingdom offers Canadian manufacturers a base to build, meet local demand, and export across three continents.

Furthermore, Vision 2030 and the National Industrial Strategy create a long-term platform for industrial investment, enabling Canadian companies to benefit from infrastructure, industrial cities, special economic zones, and access to regional markets to expand production and exports.

The Kingdom aims to reach 35,000 factories by 2035 and industrial investments of nearly SAR 2 trillion. It also targets raising the industrial sector's contribution to GDP to about SAR 895 billion by 2030.

The manufacturing sector led Canadian investment flows into the Kingdom in 2024, according to Ministry of Investment data. Canadian manufacturing companies are already operating in the Kingdom, including Ingenia Polymers, as one of the prominent Canadian investors in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom provides the computing power, energy, capital, and market demand that Canadian AI companies need to expand globally. Canada possesses globally recognized research capabilities, talent, and software in AI, while the Kingdom invests in the infrastructure, energy, and capital necessary for the commercial deployment of AI at scale.

The Kingdom plans to reach 6.6 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2034. AirTrunk, partially owned by Canadian CPP Investments, is developing a $3 billion AI data center campus with HUMAIN. The ongoing collaboration with Cohere in Arabic-language AI reflects a practical alignment between the Kingdom and Canada in this field.