Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as Ottawa seeks to expand its economic partnerships beyond the United States. The visit marks the first official trip to the kingdom by a Canadian prime minister in 26 years.

Carney is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday. He is also scheduled to address the Saudi Arabia–Canada Investment Forum and attend the signing of several agreements.

The visit comes as Canada looks to reduce its economic dependence on its largest trading partner, the United States, and attract new sources of investment. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and remarks regarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have prompted Ottawa to pursue alternative economic partners.

Economic diversification

Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 economic transformation program, is seeking to diversify its economy beyond oil and attract greater foreign investment.

Nelson Wiseman, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, said the Trump administration's unpredictable trade and foreign policy approach had pushed Carney to seek new partners in a changing global order.

Canada and Saudi Arabia fully restored diplomatic relations in 2023, ending a years-long dispute that began after Canada called for the release of detained Saudi women's rights activists in 2018.

In response, Riyadh expelled Canada's ambassador, recalled its own envoy, suspended new trade and investment ties, divested some Canadian assets and redirected thousands of Saudi students studying in Canada to other countries. The detained activists were later released.

Regional and geopolitical significance

Saudi Arabia's international standing was also affected by the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. A U.S. intelligence assessment released in 2021 concluded that the operation may have been approved by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Daniel Béland, a political scientist at McGill University in Montreal, said Carney's visit was significant not only for diversifying trade and attracting investment, but also because of geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and the war involving Iran.

Béland argued that trade and security have become higher priorities than human rights for the Carney government, while Wiseman said the Canadian prime minister was approaching international relations pragmatically and recognized the limits of influencing authoritarian governments on human rights issues. (ILKHA)