Canada’s new government has set a bold goal: doubling non-U.S. exports over the next decade and attracting $1 trillion in new investment into the Canadian economy over five years. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent international engagements, beginning with a historic State Visit with Sweden, followed by a high-impact mission to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and culminating in participation at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa have delivered major progress toward that mission.
The State Visit to Ottawa by Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden marked an important milestone in Canada’s trade diversification strategy. With Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister and the largest Swedish business delegation ever to visit Canada, the two countries launched a new Canada-Sweden Strategic Partnership. Prime Minister Carney also met with Swedish business leaders, positioning Canada as a premier destination for investment and highlighting the government’s plan to mobilize over $1 trillion in new investment over five years.
Building on this momentum, Prime Minister Carney travelled to Abu Dhabi, where Canada secured the largest foreign investment commitment in Canadian history a $70-billion pledge from UAE sovereign wealth funds. The Prime signed a new Canada-UAE Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) and launched negotiations toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which could double bilateral trade from $3.4 billion to $7 billion over the next decade.
The Prime Minister then attended the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg. South Africa, Canada’s largest trading partner in Africa, agreed with Canada to launch discussions toward a Canada-South Africa FIPA, advance cooperation in critical minerals and clean energy, and finalize a new Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. The leaders also welcomed the opening of FinDev Canada’s new regional office in Cape Town, expanding Canadian investment across the continent.
At the Summit, the Prime Minister met with global leaders — including the European Union, Vietnam, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Türkiye, Italy, and the WTO — to advance investment, strengthen supply chains, and explore new trade pathways, including deeper integration between the CPTPP and the European Union.
Across each of these engagements, the Prime Minister promoted our strengths while positioning workers and businesses to succeed in a competitive global economy to build Canada Strong.