Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, as he seeks to deepen bilateral trade and investment after years of diplomatic strain.
Carney's trip — the first to the country by a Canadian prime minister in 26 years — also saw him meet with business leaders in Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea.
"The private sector has kept the relationship alive — the commercial relationship alive. But we've barely scratched the potential of the relationship, and today is part of the next phase of building up," Carney said Thursday at a signing ceremony at the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum.
Jeff Steiner, chair of the Canada-Saudi Arabia Business Council, told reporters in Jeddah that Carney's visit to the kingdom is a "high-water mark" for relations between the two countries.
Canada has been working to mend bilateral ties following a diplomatic row in 2018 that resulted in the removal of ambassadors in both countries.
The government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau had sharply criticized the kingdom’s justice system and treatment of women, resulting in Saudi Arabia shuttering trade talks. Ambassadors were only restored in 2023.
"We're moving from reconciliation to seeing what opportunities there are when trust has been rebuilt, to build on that trust and to kind of grow prosperity and opportunities for both Canadians and for Saudis," Steiner said.
He said most Canadians only think of oil when they think about Saudi Arabia, but there are now many opportunities for Canadians in areas such as health care, energy, tourism and education.
Steiner pointed to mining and critical minerals in particular, noting Saudi Arabia has embarked on "making mining their second pillar."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
