Prime Minister Carney secures new partnership with Qatar to increase trade, investment, and defence cooperation

DOHA, Qatar, Jan. 18, 2026 /CNW/ – Prime Minister’s Office

The global landscape is rapidly changing, leaving economies, businesses, and workers in a state of uncertainty. In response, Canada is focused on what we can control: securing new trade and investment partnerships so we are not reliant on a single country, but more resilient to global shocks. We are positioning Canada as a strong, reliable partner to secure new capital, develop new export markets, and create new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses.

To advance that mission, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, travelled to Doha, Qatar – the first-ever visit by a sitting Canadian Prime Minister to the state. The Prime Minister met with the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss increasing trade, commerce, investment, and security cooperation. Upon concluding the visit, the leaders announced a commitment from Qatar to make significant strategic investments in Canadian nation-building projects. These investments will get major projects built faster, supercharge our clean energy, health, AI, and defence industries, and create thousands of high-paying careers and sustained prosperity for Canadian workers.

Building on this momentum, the Prime Minister and the Amir issued a joint statement committing to accelerated two-way investment and collaboration across AI, quantum computing, aerospace, defence technologies, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and agri-food.

After years of stalled negotiations, the leaders agreed to conclude negotiations on a new Canada–Qatar Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) by this summer. This will enable Canadian businesses to more easily expand their operations in, and attract investment from, Qatar – a country with an economy worth nearly $290 billion. Building on this progress, Canada and Qatar agreed to immediately deepen work together on:

• Bilateral trade and investment through the establishment of a Joint Canada-Qatar Commission on Economic, Commercial, and Technical Cooperation.
• Information technology, expanding investment opportunities in areas such as AI and information and computer technology.
• Defence and security, launching negotiations on a framework to facilitate the exchange of expertise on military, security, and defence matters.
• A new double-taxation agreement to make it easier for Canadians to work and invest in Qatar and vice versa, with negotiations starting soon.

To further build this partnership, Prime Minister Carney announced that Canada will:

• Expand air services between the two countries under the Canada-Qatar Air Transport Agreement.
• Establish an office for Canada’s Defence Attaché in Doha to increase the frequency and depth of bilateral engagements that increase exports from Canada’s defence sector.
• Exchange security-related best practices and lessons learned in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 26, as Canada, Mexico, and the United States prepare to co-host this global sporting event.

As Qatar marks the beginning of its 2026 Year of Culture, Prime Minister Carney emphasised the important and growing people-to-people and cultural ties between the two countries. He extended an invitation to His Highness the Amir as well as Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, to visit Canada in the coming year.

While in Doha, the Prime Minister met with the Minister of Public Health of Qatar to reinforce shared priorities in health and life science. He underscored the potential for Canadian companies to grow their footprint in Qatar’s healthcare ecosystem, including in biotechnology and groundbreaking AI-driven health technologies. He also met with Qatari business leaders and heads of the Qatari Investment Authority to explore more opportunities to collaborate, further positioning Canada as a premier destination for global capital and investment.

Canada and Qatar are both economies with preeminent resources, with common goals to diversify trade and investment opportunities, with complementary strengths in technology, security, and international leadership. As Canada works to build major new energy projects, scale up our defence capabilities, and build on our leadership in AI and innovative technologies, strengthening our partnership with Qatar will accelerate these missions. 

Quote
“Qatar is an effective, expansive, and increasing diplomatic force in the world today. They are a critical partner to Canada in many shared pursuits of peace and stability, from Ukraine to the Middle East. It is a relationship forged over many years by profound acts of friendship, including the Qataris’ effort to evacuate more than 200 Canadians from Afghanistan in 2021. Now we’re elevating our relationship – with an ambitious, new strategic partnership across trade, commerce, investment, AI, and defence – to deliver greater stability, security, and prosperity for our peoples.”
— The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick facts

• This was Prime Minister Carney’s first official visit to Qatar and the first-ever visit by a sitting Canadian Prime Minister.
• Nearly 10,000 Canadians live and work in Qatar, contributing across aerospace, artificial intelligence, defence, and agri-food sectors.
• Two-way trade exceeds $325 million, with Québec accounting for nearly half of Canadian exports – driven by aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
• Today, Qatar’s investment in Canada is growing by nearly 20% a year.
• Qatar is the third-largest economy in the Gulf region, offering significant business opportunities for Canadian companies.
• In November 2025, Canada removed the visa requirement for Qatari citizens and introduced electronic travel authorisation eligibility for air travel to facilitate business and leisure travel.
• In 2018, Canada and Qatar initiated negotiations toward a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA).

Related product

• Prime Minister Carney meets with Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Associated link

• Canada-Qatar relations

This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister’s Office