Canada, UAE conclude negotiations on a free-trade agreement

OTTAWA – The governments of Canada and the United Arab Emirates say they have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference in Toronto on Friday that the next steps include legal review, the signing of the deal and ratification.

“It’s been a busy couple of days. We’ve been at it negotiating and we literally just walked out of the room with the final touches,” Sidhu said. 

Sidhu said the government has been working to expand its partnership with the UAE and that while the conflict in the Middle East delayed the start of negotiations, his team was determined to reach an agreement. 

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani al-Zeyoudi said the agreement was reached in 47 days, which he called “record time.”

Al-Zeyoudi said the deal will reduce tariffs on the vast majority of products and reduce technical barriers to trade.

“It will increase, for sure, the market access to each of our business communities, drive industrial productivity, accelerate innovation and for sure increase the growth of our non-oil sectors,” he said.

Sidhu said he plans to travel to the UAE with a Canadian trade and investment delegation later this year. He said Canada will also host officials from the UAE at the first-ever Canada Investment Summit in Toronto in September.

The Liberals have set out to double non-U. S. exports over the next decade. The government’s spring economic update said non-U. S. goods and services exports increased by $33 billion in 2025 compared to 2024.

Samantha Lafleur, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said in an email this week that in the first quarter of this year, non-U. S. exports of goods and services totalled $96.2 billion.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has boasted of signing 20 strategic trade and defence agreements around the world over the past year.

Earlier Friday, Ottawa signed a free trade deal with Ecuador.

The federal government’s website says bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the UAE reached $3.4 billion in 2024.

Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the United Arab Emirates last year. At the conclusion of his visit in November, Carney said Ottawa was working on a $1-billion project aimed at expanding critical minerals processing capacity in Canada.

At the same time, the UAE pledged to invest around $70 billion in Canada. Sidhu said Friday that could include new investments in ports, mines, LNG and major projects.

On Friday, al-Zeyoudi said he expects that announcements about investments will be made soon, including from the energy sector.

“Our different sovereign wealth funds and government companies have been visiting and exploring and working with many of the local stakeholders and partners here in Canada,” he said.

Asked by reporters what has to happen in order to get that investment flowing, al-Zeyoudi said the UAE is “just waiting for the right opportunity” to announce the projects.

Sidhu added that most of the sovereign wealth funds from the UAE will be in Canada for the investment summit later this year.

“The due diligence is happening right now and so to protect those commercial sensitivities I think it’s important that we allow the proponents to work through those conversations,” said Sidhu.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2026. 

— With files from Elissa Mendes in Toronto