UAE and Canada sign comprehensive economic partnership agreement, building on $4.2bn in non-oil trade

The UAE's Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and Canada's Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, today signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, in the presence of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Dr Al Zeyoudi announced.

The minister said the agreement builds on a growing trade relationship: non-oil trade between the two countries rose 21% in 2025 to reach $4.2 billion. The UAE is Canada's largest Arab trading partner, while Canada is the UAE's third-largest trading partner in the Americas.

According to Dr Al Zeyoudi, the agreement reflects both countries' commitment to deepening their strategic partnership and opening new horizons for trade and investment. He said it will strengthen commercial connectivity between North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, creating new opportunities for exporters, investors and entrepreneurs in both markets.

The deal is part of the UAE's CEPA programme, launched in 2021 to widen the country's network of trading partners and grow its non-oil trade. Dr Al Zeyoudi leads the negotiations as Minister of Foreign Trade.

The Canada agreement comes days after a similar agreement was signed with the Republic of Benin on 25 October in the presence of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, underlining the quickening pace of the programme across several continents.