Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have concluded a comprehensive free trade agreement and begun negotiations on an extradition treaty. According to a statement from Ottawa, this treaty will allow Abu Dhabi to request the transfer of individuals accused of crimes.
The announcement followed the visit of the Emirati Crown Prince to the Canadian capital. Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spent two days with Prime Minister Mark Carney and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Joint Military Committee between the two parties. This committee will cover military education and training, joint exercises, cybersecurity, and information exchange.
The free trade agreement, which was agreed upon in a record 47 days for either party, is named the Canada-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa). According to Carney, it will lead to the reduction or complete elimination of tariffs on over 99 percent of Canadian exports to the UAE starting next year.
Carney noted that this will open new markets for Canadian farmers growing beans and rapeseed, for manufacturers of industrial equipment and energy generation equipment, as well as for Canada's aerospace sector and other Canadian innovators.
Canada's Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, announced on Wednesday that Cepa will double bilateral trade between Canada and the UAE from $2.4 billion to nearly $5 billion over the next decade, providing Canadian businesses greater access to the UAE's $500 billion economy.
Previously, the UAE committed to investing $50 billion in Canadian energy and development projects last year, particularly in the Arctic, following Carney's visit to Abu Dhabi. Carney stated that this week's discussions with bin Zayed 'have led to significant progress' in fulfilling this commitment, though he did not go into detail.
