dailynewsnblog
May 6, 2026 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
Earlier this week, the Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, spoke with Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce. Minister Sidhu expressed Canada’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia in the wake of Iran’s unacceptable attacks across the Middle East, including the Gulf States.
The ministers discussed the rapidly evolving global economic landscape and the importance of the Canada-Saudi trade and investment relationship. They commended the strengthened trade relationship, highlighting the commercial partnerships established between Canadian and Saudi companies in support of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation agenda.
During the discussion, Minister Sidhu and Minister Al-Kassabi agreed to continue advancing work across priority sectors of mutual interest, including accelerating business-to-business connections. They also discussed the progress made to date on the current negotiations toward a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement between Canada and Saudi Arabia. Minister Sidhu reaffirmed Canada’s interest in reaching a mutually beneficial agreement that further builds on Canada-Saudi Arabia economic ties and boosts investor confidence in Canada’s stability and reliability as an investment destination.
The meeting highlighted both countries’ commitment to economic prosperity, deepening commercial relations, and shared trade diversification objectives. Minister Sidhu offered Canada’s expertise in strengthening critical logistics and supply chain lines amid the current conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
