Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah yesterday, marking the first go to by a Canadian prime minister to the dominion in 26 years. The 2 leaders signed 13 agreements and memorandums of understanding value $1 billion, protecting sectors together with well being, synthetic intelligence, protection and mining.
The go to and offers mark a shift following years of strained ties below Carney’s predecessor, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, largely because of Saudi Arabia’s human rights document. However Carney defended the journey, saying, “Lecturing international locations from afar is an ineffective technique. It’s satisfying, but it surely’s ineffective.”
The go to additionally comes as U.S. tariffs proceed to weigh on the Canadian financial system and simply following the Trump administration’s announcement that it will not renew the USMCA in its present type. As James Bosworth wrote in his column for WPR final week, the USMCA and NAFTA offered an structure for financial integration among the many North American international locations. However as that faces rising uncertainty, Canada is actively participating with key companions past the continent.
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