The pace of the economic partnership between Saudi Arabia and Canada is accelerating towards a new and qualitative phase; after a full year of intense diplomatic and investment activity between the two countries, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney inaugurated a new strategic era focused on qualitative and future sectors during an official talks session held at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah. This political momentum was immediately crowned with the signing of 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding at the Saudi-Canadian Investment Forum, setting a broader path for cooperation that reflects the mutual and deep desire of both sides to continue it.

In this integrated landscape, attention is now turning to the mining and critical minerals sector as the first beneficiary of this partnership, driven by the unique complementary advantages of both countries combining abundant resources and Canada's longstanding engineering expertise with the Kingdom's huge industrial and investment capabilities to unlock its untapped mineral wealth estimated at $2.5 trillion. This mining sector is expected to yield early returns from the recent agreements, before its integrated effects extend to energy, advanced technology, and data center sectors, ensuring the enhancement of value chains and the creation of investment and industrial opportunities with a global dimension.

Regular meetings

To ensure that these 'understandings' are transformed from 'framework memoranda' into 'existing projects' on the ground, the head of the Saudi-Canadian Business Council, Mohammed Nasser Al-Duleim, revealed that there are new agreements that will be announced in due time, and that there will be a careful follow-up of what has been signed between the two sides.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that there is extensive activity between the two sides, a plan to exchange trade delegations between Saudi Arabia and Canada, and regular meetings between companies during the current year, and that these vital meetings will continue next year, 2027.

This aligns with what Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, announced, affirming that deepening cooperation with Saudi Arabia – Canada's largest trading partner in the region – represents a fundamental pillar of Ottawa's ambitious strategy to stimulate $500 billion in private investments and double its non-U.S. exports over the next decade.

Earlier this year, the global Canadian engineering company Hatch signed a strategic agreement with Saudi Ma'aden worth up to $700 million to develop its project portfolio in gold, phosphate, and aluminum. A qualitative partnership was also announced between Canadian Northern Graphite and the Saudi Al-Obeikan Investment Group to establish an advanced plant for processing battery anode materials in the Kingdom, a key step towards securing and diversifying clean energy supply chains of the future.

Regarding the fastest expected returns from this rapprochement, Al-Duleim suggested that the mining and critical minerals sector will lead the scene as the backbone of this partnership, which operates according to a strategic equation he formulated as: 'Canada supplies, Saudi Arabia transforms, and the world benefits.' He added that this vital axis will be followed successively by energy, advanced technology, and data center sectors, stressing that this entire system represents integrated, not competing, sectors serving common future goals.

Technology and data centers

Al-Duleim affirmed that the Council's priorities after the Jeddah forum 'are clear, namely transforming the 15 agreements from (memoranda) into (existing projects), and it has adopted an implementation follow-up mechanism for each agreement, including a timeline and performance indicators to be reviewed periodically with the signatory parties, and a follow-up report will be issued in the coming period.'

The head of the Council also touched on the significant growth in the trade balance, saying: 'We are confident that it will exceed previous levels in the coming years, driven by the political and economic momentum generated by the recent forum and the state visit of the Canadian Prime Minister.'

Mohammed Al-Duleim, head of the Saudi-Canadian Business Council (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sectoral working groups

Regarding the Council's role in the next phase, he clarified that the Council's role on the organizational side is to be the link between investors and government entities in both countries, and that the Council's sectoral working groups play an effective role and form a permanent platform for following up partnerships and overcoming any challenges.

The Saudi-Canadian Investment Forum, attended by an elite group of businessmen and investors from both sides led by officials from the two countries, has whetted appetites to enhance this path and seek promising opportunities in the Saudi economy, which has reached about $1.3 trillion, with non-oil activities exceeding 50 percent of GDP.

It appears that both sides explored promising investment opportunities during the forum, and investors identified target sectors, some of which were announced and some are being negotiated in all aspects even if not disclosed; however, they will not go beyond the scope of 'financial services, mining, advanced industries, artificial intelligence, data centers, education, and innovation.'