Saudi Arabia Welcomes Carney as Canada Pivots From Relying on America for Trade

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada is looking to Saudi Arabia as he seeks to diversify trade and investment and rely less on America.Mr. Carney, on Thursday, held meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and business leaders.It’s the first time in more than a quarter century that a Canadian prime minister has visited Saudi Arabia. Diplomatic relations between the two nations became especially strained after Canada’s foreign ministry posted on social media in 2018 calling for the release of detained women’s rights activists. Riyadh responded by expelling the ambassador and pulling Saudi students out of Canada.The two nations restored full diplomatic ties in 2023 after the then-prime minister, Justin Trudeau, spoke on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.The prime minister and crown prince spoke Thursday of the growing cooperation between Canada and Saudi Arabia, including a recent agreement to increase air travel between the two countries. They also welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to reestablish the Canada-Saudi Arabia Coordination Council. Its purpose will be to strengthen cooperation between the two nations on trade and investment, education, and defense.Mr. Carney also met with the heads of the state-run oil company and mining company. “Saudi Arabia represents massive new opportunities for Canadian energy workers and businesses. That’s what we focused on today with Minister Bandar Al-Khorayef and Ma’aden CEO Robert Wilt,” Mr. Carney said in an X post after the meeting.Saudi Arabia wants to diversify its economy to rely much less on oil sales. Mr. Carney is seeking to diversify trade to reduce its heavy reliance on America as a reaction to tariffs imposed by President Trump. Ottawa is seeking to double non-American exports over the next decade.“Trump’s erratic trade and foreign policies” have forced Mr. Carney to reach out for new partners, a University of Toronto professor emeritus told the Associated Press.Mr. Carney’s visit represents a “high-water mark” for relations between the two countries, the Canada-Saudi Business Council’s chairman, Jeff Steiner told reporters at Jeddah.“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,” Mr. Steiner said.

Saudi Arabia Welcomes Carney as Canada Pivots From Relying on America for Trade

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