Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to the media after meetings in Saudi Arabia

Overview: “Engagement-without-endorsement”

Prime Minister Mark Carney used his Saudi Arabia stop after NATO meetings to argue that Canada is pursuing an “engagement-without-endorsement” approach: expanding defense and economic ties while still raising issues like human rights through dialogue, rather than public pressure. He framed the trip as part of Canada’s broader push for rising military readiness and industrial capacity, positioning it within a more diversified foreign policy for a “more dangerous” and “more divided”” world.

Canada’s NATO track record and defense-industrial push

Carney said Canada is already meeting NATO’s 2% defense spending target and is on a path toward 5% by 2035. He also emphasized faster defense procurement and the delivery of new capabilities, including:

• Halifax as the location for what he described as the largest Canadian defense procurement in history.
• Moving toward negotiating up to 12 state-of-the-art submarines from TKMS, claiming bid review and selection in less than a year—five years ahead of the original schedule.

At the NATO summit (with President Erdoğan mentioned), Carney said Canada:

• Launched negotiations for a new free trade agreement with Turkey.
• Signed defense-related contracts to grow Canada’s industrial base and jobs.
• Agreed to open negotiations to join NATO’s innovation sub fund and to host NATO’s 2027 industry forum.

He also described expanding Canada’s overseas mission:

• Extending Operation Reassurance to 2031.
• Increasing the Canadian-led ground presence to about 2,600 personnel as a third framework nation in a multinational division on NATO’s eastern flank.

Saudi partnership: commercial agreements and investment talks

Carney said Canada and Saudi Arabia signed 13 new commercial agreements spanning:

• Education
• Critical minerals/mining
• Energy and infrastructure
• Defense/security training
• AI and health technology

He highlighted expected outcomes such as:

• Workforce training for Saudi industries
• Engineering partnerships tied to large-scale mining (described as unlocking over $2 trillion in mineral wealth)
• Clean building and infrastructure support
• Training partnerships to strengthen Saudi domestic aviation/defense capabilities
• AI and health technology collaborations for improved diagnostics and patient monitoring

Carney said Canada aims to conclude negotiations on a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with Saudi Arabia by Q1 of next year.

He also stated that:

• Canada’s Minister of Finance will lead a delegation of Canadian pension funds (described as holding $2 trillion) to seek opportunities.
• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will attend Canada’s investment summit in the fall.
• Canada will participate in Expo 2030 in Saudi Arabia.

Response to questions: engagement vs. human rights and past disputes

When asked whether this approach differs from a more confrontational 2018 period, Carney defended the strategy:

“Engagement is not endorsement.”

He argued that:

• Public disagreements don’t necessarily advance outcomes.
• Engagement can be effective in specific cases, including a Canadian consular case he said was addressed favorably during the trip.
• “Lecturing from afar” is ineffective, while dialogue can create the influence needed to address rights and consular concerns.

“Vision 2030” as a model and lessons from risk/slowdowns

Asked whether Saudi “Vision 2030” faces a cautionary tale from cost overruns and reduced ambition, Carney said:

• The plan is ambitious and not everything will go right.
• The key lesson is execution discipline: set KPIs, course-correct, stop/cut losses, and use partnerships to spread risk and bring expertise.
• He suggested Saudi growth indicators show progress (citing IMF-type figures), while acknowledging challenges remain.

He also framed Canadian business opportunity as Saudi moving into a partnership/inbound investment phase.

What Saudi investors should target in Canada

Carney said discussions point to investments in:

• Energy (from LNG to renewables and nuclear)
• Mining (inbound, given Saudi ambitions)
• Infrastructure and broader development
• Education ties (training partnerships)
• AI collaboration, including interest as projects move beyond basic “stack” work toward more advanced “agentic” capabilities

On China, he specifically described critical minerals and rare earths as an alignment area among Saudi, Canada, G7, Australia, and Korea—framed as reducing global supply-chain risk and limiting China-linked “ring fence” concerns.

U.S. trade comments and Middle East/IMF question

U.S. trade discussions

Carney said he is willing to clarify parts of existing arrangements tied to Donald Trump (including references to bridge/tolls issues raised by the questioner), without committing in the transcript to a full renegotiation.

IMF forecast and Iran-related spillovers

Regarding the IMF reducing its global forecast amid spillovers from the Iran war, Carney:

• Said Canada remains among the top performers in the G7 per IMF forecasts.
• Emphasized focusing on what Canada can control domestically (affordability and construction/building together).
• Noted that a ceasefire remains fragile and tense, with outcomes affecting global food and energy prices.
• Pointed to Saudi Arabia’s role in the region as a reason Canada is engaging rather than lecturing.

Miscellaneous: Erdoğan gift anecdote

Asked about a gift from President Erdoğan, Carney said he:

• Didn’t initially see it directly.
• Learned about it through others.
• Later learned it was not what he expected.

He said it involved a 357-caliber association, was deemed not a legal firearm in Canada, has been decommissioned, and will be placed in an appropriate museum/home. Prime Minister Starmer was mentioned in the anecdote (full context not shown).

Presenters or contributors

• Prime Minister Mark Carney
• President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
• NATO Secretary General (name not provided in the subtitles)
• Thomas Sil (Bloomberg)
• Mackenzie Gray (Global News)
• Marie Brewster (CBC)
• “Daniel” (questioner; last name not provided)
• Prime Minister Starmer (mentioned in the gift anecdote; full context not shown)