JEDDAH: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision of an economically diverse future for Saudi Arabia during his visit to Jeddah on Thursday, as he aimed to bolster economic ties between the two nations.
“I complimented His Royal Highness this afternoon on many things: his leadership, his vision, his attention, execution and action,” Canada’s premier said during a speech at the Saudi-Canadian Investment Forum.
“It’s important to be heard, it’s important to make these connections, and it’s important to translate these connections into action and action into full partnerships,” he added.
The event saw Saudi Arabia and Canada sign 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding across a range of sectors including mining and artificial intelligence.
Carney added that the commercial relationship between Canada and Saudi Arabia has remained strong but still has significant room to grow: “This is our second-largest trading relationship in the Gulf.”
He added: “the private sector has kept the relationship alive, the commercial relationship alive.”
Carney said both sides have yet to fully realize the scale of potential between the two economies.
“We barely scratched the potential of the relationship, and today is part of the next phase of building that.”
He pointed to investment as a key area for future cooperation, stating: “The scale of investment opportunities here, partnership opportunities, equity sector opportunities, venture opportunities are immense.”
Carney said Canada and Saudi Arabia would benefit from building stronger platforms together, including those that can serve wider regional and global markets. “We will be stronger building together,” he added.
Joe Lombard, vice chairman of Canadian engineering company Hatch, spoke to Arab News on the sidelines of the event about the company’s partnership with Saudi mining company Ma’aden.
During the forum, Hatch announced an agreement with Ma’aden to serve as the company’s engineering partner for its planned $110 billion mining expansion program — “the world’s largest critical minerals project by far,” according to Lombard.
Saudi Minister of Investment Fahad Al-Saif also spoke on stage to welcome Carney, and pointed to the growing presence of Canadian businesses in the Kingdom.
“Today, there are 625 Canadian companies operating in the Kingdom, including 13 regional headquarters.”
He added that interest from Canadian firms has accelerated, with Saudi Arabia issuing around 250 licenses to Canadian companies in 2025, double the number issued the previous year.
Al-Saif said the two countries have room to expand cooperation across several strategic sectors.
“Looking around this room, I see opportunities that are broad, integrated and strategic, from energy to mining, AI and financial services, including infrastructure, aviation, logistics and industry.”
He also welcomed new mechanisms to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
“The Saudi-Canadian Coordination Council announced today will help both governments sustain engagement and remove barriers permanently.”
Al-Saif said working towards a formal investment agreement would further support investor confidence.
Amr Abdeljawad, chief operating officer of Canadian company FluidAI Medical, told Arab News that Canadian health technology firms see significant opportunities to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s healthcare transformation.
“One of the things that a lot of Canadian companies are trying to do is how can they export that level of technology to other places, particularly when it comes to healthcare delivery,” he said.
The executive also said that Saudi Arabia has emerged as an attractive market for health technology companies looking to scale their operations and introduce innovative solutions to healthcare providers across the Kingdom.
During the forum, FluidAI Medical announced the signing of two agreements, which Abdeljawad described as an important milestone in its expansion strategy within the Kingdom.
