Prime Minister Mark Carney departs for another overseas trip

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OTTAWA — Just two weeks after returning from an overseas trip and days removed from a precipitously narrow budget vote, Prime Minister Mark Carney is once again packing his bags.

On Tuesday, Carney departs for the United Arab Emirates to meet with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other government officials, on a mission described by the PMO to “expand the Canada-UAE economic partnership in key sectors such as energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and AI.”

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PM travels to UAE, South Africa

Government officials told reporters last week the trip will attempt to wrap up investment negotiations that have been taking place between the two countries for over a decade, and bolster trade and private investment between the two nations.

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Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will accompany Carney to the UAE.

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Canada’s two-way trade with the UAE amounted to around $3.4 billion in 2024, with $2.6 billion in exports and $800 million in imports.

Carney will also deliver a keynote speech to the Canada-UAE Business Council, scheduled to take place Friday.

Trip follows Alberta Premier’s trade mission to Abu Dhabi

Carney’s trip comes just weeks after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opened her province’s new international office in the capital city of Abu Dhabi, described as Alberta’s “home base” for provincial businesses looking to expand their presence in the Middle East.

Departing Abu Dhabi, Carney will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, to attend the G20 leader’s summit to “deepen Canada’s partnerships in energy, trade, and defence, building on progress achieved throughout Canada’s G7 presidency this year,” according to the PMO.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will meet the PM in Johannesburg.

It will be Carney’s first visit to both countries as prime minister, and the first time a Canadian PM has visited the UAE since November, 1983, when Pierre Trudeau and his son, then-11-year-old Justin,  made the trip.

Racking up the air miles

Without including Carney’s upcoming trip, the PM has travelled 164,330 kilometres, taking 71 separate trips since succeeding Justin Trudeau eight months ago.

As of Tuesday morning, Carney will have embarked on 10 flights so far this month, including his Nov. 1 return from a week-long junket to Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

On Nov. 7 he flew 365 kilometres from Ottawa to Toronto to deliver remarks at the Canadian Club, before departing to Fredericton as part of a tour promoting Budget 2025.

That was followed by a third trip to Vancouver and Terrace, B.C. to announce the latest round of “nation-building projects” before flying to Winnipeg over the weekend to attend the Grey Cup.

These numbers don’t include an October private flight chartered to allow the PM to attend the signing of the Israel-Hamas peace accords in Egypt, an unusual measure taken due to a lack of available RCAF planes.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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