June 22, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

From June 18 to 20, 2025, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed to Canada His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), for a high-level visit of the U.A.E.’s delegation that he led, where they discussed key areas of cooperation and reinforced the strong ties between Canada and the UAE.

The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario also met the delegation and discussed opportunities for Canada and the U.A.E. to collaborate on AI, through research and development, commercialization, and capital investments. 

As part of this visit, the Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, met with members of the delegation to advance economic opportunities as part of Canada’s commitment to trade diversification. Minister Sidhu also spoke with his counterpart H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, U.A.E. Minister of State for Foreign Trade, about the importance of strengthening the trade and investment relationship between the two countries.

At a business roundtable hosted by the Canada-UAE Business Council, Minister Sidhu spoke about how Canada and the UAE can continue to expand their trade relationship. He noted, for example, the recent opening of the Dubai Chambers office in Toronto, which will help unlock new opportunities for Canadian and Emirati businesses.

The Honourable Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development), also took this opportunity to meet with Reem Al Hashimy, the U.A.E.’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, to discuss relief efforts in Gaza and potential development cooperation between Canada and UAE.

Through a joint statement between Canada and the U.A.E., both countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation across trade, investment, innovation, people-to-people ties, international development and regional peace and security. Growing Canada’s commercial ties with countries like the U.A.E. builds on Canada’s trade diversification strategy, creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses.