The Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum has concluded in Jeddah, bringing together senior government officials, investors, financial institutions, and private-sector leaders from both countries to strengthen bilateral investment ties and expand economic cooperation across strategic sectors.
Held on the sidelines of the Canadian prime minister’s visit to the Kingdom, the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum focused on unlocking high-quality investment opportunities and deepening collaboration in mining and critical minerals, financial services, advanced industries, artificial intelligence and data centers, and skills development.
The Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum underscored the alignment between Saudi Vision 2030 and Canada’s expertise in mining, engineering, advanced manufacturing, financial services, artificial intelligence, and workforce development, with both countries seeking to translate renewed bilateral momentum into long-term partnerships, projects, and industrial value chains.
Within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom offers growth opportunities driven by economic reforms, advanced infrastructure, capital availability, and access to regional and global markets. Canadian companies and institutions bring internationally recognized capabilities in mining and critical minerals, engineering, financial services, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and skills development.
Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum highlights key potentials
The Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum highlighted the potential to transform these complementary strengths into partnerships that support industrial growth, innovation, economic diversification, and shared prosperity while extending opportunities beyond the Kingdom into regional and global markets.
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Saudi Arabia continues to position itself as a destination for international investment by offering long-term demand, advanced infrastructure, and a streamlined investment journey through the Ministry of Investment and the Invest Saudi platform.
Canadian companies are expected to contribute expertise in sectors central to Saudi Vision 2030, with the Ministry of Investment and Invest Saudi facilitating access to sector-specific opportunities, government entities, private-sector partners, and investor services.
Mining sector emerges as key area for collaboration
Saudi Arabia’s mineral wealth is estimated at approximately $2.5 trillion, covering more than 2.1 million square kilometers. The Kingdom has identified opportunities in more than 50 minerals and is accelerating exploration activities across the Arabian Shield.
Canadian companies and investors are already active in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector, including Barrick and Ivanhoe Electric, which are collaborating with the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) to explore approximately 48,500 square kilometers.
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Manara Minerals, a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ma’aden, also holds a 10 percent stake in Vale Base Metals, strengthening Saudi-Canadian cooperation in copper and nickel.
Financial markets and industrial growth offer new opportunities
The Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum also highlighted opportunities for Canadian investment institutions, asset managers, insurance companies, fintech firms, and financial service providers to expand their presence in Saudi Arabia’s capital, debt, sukuk, insurance, and venture capital markets through the Kingdom’s growing regional financial ecosystem.
The Saudi Stock Exchange’s market capitalization reached approximately $2.53 trillion (SAR9.44 trillion) as of June 2026. The expansion of market access for foreign investors provides international institutions with greater opportunities to participate in the growth of Saudi Arabia’s financial markets, supported by deep liquidity across debt, sukuk, and venture capital sectors.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Industrial Strategy continue to provide a long-term platform for industrial investment by enabling Canadian companies to utilize the Kingdom’s infrastructure, industrial cities, and special economic zones to expand production and exports.
The Kingdom aims to increase the number of factories to 35,000 by 2035, with industrial investments approaching $533.33 billion (SAR2 trillion). It also targets increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to approximately $238.67 billion (SAR895 billion) by 2030.
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Canadian manufacturing companies, including Ingenia Polymers, are already utilizing Saudi Arabia’s industrial infrastructure and regional market access to expand production and export capabilities.
AI, data centers and skills development strengthen tech ties
The Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum also emphasized cooperation in advanced technology, combining Canada’s artificial intelligence research capabilities with Saudi Arabia’s computing capacity and energy infrastructure.
The Kingdom is targeting 6.6 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2034. Key developments include a $3 billion AI data center complex being developed by AirTrunk, backed by Canada’s CPP Investments, in partnership with Humain, alongside continued cooperation with Cohere to advance Arabic-language AI models.
Saudi Arabia also highlighted the importance of workforce development to support its industrial and technological transformation, at the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum. Canadian institutions bring internationally recognized expertise in technical and vocational education, with skills partnerships expected to strengthen local capabilities and develop the specialized workforce required to support the Kingdom’s long-term industrial and technology objectives.
