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The UAE has agreed to invest up to $50 billion in Canada, following a multi-day visit by Prime Minister Mark Carney to Abu Dhabi, where several long-term deals were finalized across AI, energy, and mining.
The commitment was announced Friday by the UAE’s Ministry of Investment, according to a government statement shared during the summit.
This is the first official trip by a Canadian prime minister to the country in more than 40 years, and it is reportedly part of Canada’s new push to double exports outside the U.S. over the next decade and trigger $1 trillion in new investment within five years.
Carney, who’s made foreign capital attraction a priority since taking office, secured the backing of UAE leadership during a bilateral meeting with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, where they signed the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.
Canada and UAE ink FIPA, launch talks on full trade agreement
The FIPA agreement, now signed, will set fixed rules for Emirati investors looking to operate in Canada. It aims to remove regulatory friction and provide legal clarity for companies eyeing long-term projects in everything from engineering and clean technology to data infrastructure and AI.
“Our agreements with the UAE will attract billions of dollars in investments into Canada, open new markets and opportunities for our workers and businesses, and create high-paying careers across the country,” Carney said.
Beyond FIPA, Carney and Mohamed bin Zayed launched formal negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a CEPA, which could slash tariffs and regulatory barriers between the two countries.
The UAE, with a $700 billion economy and one of the fastest-growing logistics hubs, is now being targeted as a major alternative export destination for Canadian industries, including aerospace, agri-food, and seafood.
Canada’s trade ministry believes that a CEPA could double Canada-UAE trade from $3.4 billion to $7 billion over ten years. Similar deals with Chile and South Korea had the same outcome.
Pension funds, direct flights, AI labs all on the table
During the visit, Carney met with top UAE business leaders, including the heads of sovereign wealth funds and executives from G42, the country’s key state-linked AI firm. Abu Dhabi is building out what it claims will be one of the world’s largest data center hubs, in partnership with U.S. tech suppliers. The UAE is aggressively investing in AI and clean energy abroad through XRG, the foreign arm of state oil company ADNOC.
Following the summit, Carney confirmed that Canada’s Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu will lead a business delegation to the UAE in early 2026. The focus will be AI, infrastructure, agriculture, and energy.
The delegation will also encourage UAE sovereign wealth funds to visit Canada and connect directly with the Major Projects Office, with priority areas including LNG, critical minerals, and data infrastructure.
In return, Canada’s pension funds, managing over $2 trillion, will travel to the UAE next year to scout new long-term investment opportunities.
More direct commercial flights will also launch between Canada and the UAE, increasing passenger and cargo traffic and improving business logistics.
At the Canada-UAE Investment Summit, attended by Carney, multiple partnerships were finalized. AI research institute Mila will partner with the UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute to develop new AI systems.
BlackBerry signed a cybersecurity deal with the UAE’s Cyber Security Council. Invest in Canada will work directly with the UAE’s Ministry of Investment to map out more large-scale deals.
Carney also used the visit to express Canada’s continued support for long-term peace in the Middle East, emphasizing joint work with international partners to keep the region stable.
“This is about building Canada strong,” Carney said at the close of the summit. “We’re diversifying our trade, we’re finding new investors, and we’re doing it on our terms.”
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