Prime Minister Carney to attend the NATO Summit in Türkiye and visit Saudi Arabia to deepen trade, technology, and defence partnerships

In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada’s government is focused on what we can control. We are reinforcing our independence with a generational increase in defence investment, support for Canada’s defence industries, and new defence partnerships across the Atlantic.

To advance this mission, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced that he will travel to Ankara, Türkiye, from July 6 to 8, 2026, to participate in the 2026 NATO Summit. He will then travel to Saudi Arabia, from July 8 to 10, 2026, for a bilateral visit.

At the NATO Summit, the Prime Minister will further strengthen Canada’s contributions to the NATO Alliance, forge new partnerships with Allies, and build shared security, including in defence of Ukraine. In one year, Canada has made the largest increase in defence investment in a generation, achieved NATO’s 2% defence expenditure target, and we are on track to meet NATO’s 5% defence expenditure target by 2035. Canada is now the first non-European member of the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, and through Operation REASSURANCE, we have deployed our largest sustained military presence in Europe in more than 30 years.

The Prime Minister will then visit Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman. The Prime Minister and the Crown Prince will deepen the Canada-Saudi Arabia partnership across energy, critical minerals, defence, infrastructure, and investment. These efforts will focus on expanding trade, promoting two-way investment, and advancing cooperation in priority sectors, including mining, artificial intelligence, cleantech, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, and life sciences. This will be the first visit to Saudi Arabia by a Canadian Prime Minister in 26 years.

In a rapidly changing world, Canada is taking full responsibility for defending our sovereignty and building our strength as a reliable partner and Ally.

Quote

“Canada is rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces. We’ve delivered the largest increase in defence investment in a generation, we’ve met our NATO defence expenditure targets for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and we are building a dense web of new partnerships. Canadian leadership is no longer defined by just the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength.”

Quick facts

The 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, will bring together NATO Allies and partner countries to discuss key issues facing the Alliance.
These are Prime Minister Carney’s first official visits to Türkiye and Saudi Arabia since taking office – the first by a Canadian Prime Minister to Türkiye in 11 years and to Saudi Arabia in 26 years.
In one year, Canada has modernised and streamlined our defence procurement with the launch of the Defence Investment Agency and Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, become the first non-European nation to join the SAFE initiative, and secured more than 20 economic and security partnerships across five continents.
Canada is advancing the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) – a new multilateral financial institution that will bring together likeminded allies and partners to mobilise and deploy private capital and support collective security.
- The DSRB will provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence, security, and resilience initiatives, helping to address critical financing gaps, with benefits for defence workers and industries, including small and medium-sized businesses.
The bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia will build on bilateral engagements over the past year, including visits by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, in March 2026; the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Evan Solomon, in February 2026; the Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, in January 2026; and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Claude Guay, in January 2026. This will be the first in-person meeting between the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince.
Saudi Arabia is Canada’s second-largest trading partner in the Gulf region, with bilateral trade totalling $3.5 billion in 2025.