UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi led a government and business delegation to Toronto to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties with Canada through high-level meetings and a UAE-Canada Business Roundtable.
Al Zeyoudi co-chaired the UAE-Canada Business Roundtable with Canada’s Minister of International Trade, the Maninder Sidhu, bringing together senior government officials and business leaders from both countries to explore opportunities for greater private-sector collaboration.
The UAE Minister commented that the visit underscores Canada’s importance as a trade and investment partner. The session was moderated by the Jean Charest, Co-Chair of the UAE-Canada Business Roundtable, former Premier of Quebec and Partner at Therrien Couture Joli-Coeur.
Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi UAE Minister of Foreign Trade
“With its world-class capabilities in agri-food, clean technology, advanced manufacturing, as well as a financial services sector that complements our own economic ambitions, Canada is a nation of increasing focus for our private sector. Our conversations in Toronto this week have centered on building lasting, commercially meaningful links that will create value for our respective businesses communities over the long term. The depth of interest from Canadian companies to engage with the UAE reflects the genuine opportunity that exists on both sides, and we are now looking to build on the more than $4.2 billion in bilateral non-oil trade that we exchanged in 2025.”
The UAE-Canada Business Roundtable brought together representatives from leading UAE and Canadian companies in agri-food, clean energy, financial services, logistics and technology. Participants discussed expanding bilateral investment, strengthening supply chains and leveraging the UAE’s position as a global trade hub to improve Canadian market access across the Gulf, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
During the visit, Al Zeyoudi also held bilateral talks with Sidhu and met executives from the Royal Bank of Canada, including Neil McLaughlin, Group Head, Wealth Management & Insurance, Lindsay Patrick, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Wayne Bossert, Deputy Chairman, RBC Wealth Management, John Stackhouse, SVP, Office of the CEO, and Thomas Ashcroft, Global Issues Policy Lead.
The minister also visited the Vector Institute, where he met senior officials to discuss advancing artificial intelligence through talent development, commercialization and industry partnerships.
Image credits: WAM | Cropped by GBN
The visit comes as UAE-Canada economic ties continue to expand. Bilateral non-oil trade reached $4.2 billion in 2025, up 21.0 percent from 2024 and 94.9 percent from 2019. UAE non-oil exports to Canada increased 11.0 percent year-on-year to $638 million, while re-exports rose 67.4 percent to $648 million.
The visit, and the UAE-Canada Business Roundtable is part of the UAE’s trade engagement strategy to increase non-oil foreign trade to $1.1 trillion by 2031 through expanded commercial partnerships and economic diversification.
