Sunday January 18, 2026 | DOHA, QATAR [Reporting from VICTORIA, BC – Posted at 5 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to have accomplished a lot during a one-day visit today in Qatar toward enhanced economic and cultural relations between Canada and Qatar.
Areas of agreement between the two countries are listed below.
But it’s noteworthy that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) news release today led with re-stating Canada’s reasons for undertaking what might seem new to a lot of Canadians. The word ‘new’ is an adjective on each item.
“The global landscape is rapidly changing, leaving economies, businesses, and workers in a state of uncertainty,” says the Prime Minister’s statement in a news release January 18, something he also opened with in his press conference in Qatar today.
“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,” says Carney.
“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” it was stated by the Carney government.
First-ever visit to Qatar:
To advance the mission of expanding Canada’s trade footprint, today’s visit of Carney to meet with Qatar officials in that country’s capital city of Doha can be noted as the first-ever visit by a sitting Canadian Prime Minister to the state.
“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,” says Carney today.
Location:
Qatar is a geographically small country located next door to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Carney has also recently developed economic relations.
Qatar is also right next door to saudi Arabia, across the Persion Gulf from Iran, and in the same region as Kuwait and Iraq.
Top-level meeting:
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.
The current Amir, age 45, has ruled Qatar since June 2013. Before assuming reign of Qatar in his father’s footsteps, he worked in top security and economics posts. In 2003 he was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Qatar’s armed forces.
Upon concluding the visit, the leaders announced a commitment from Qatar to make significant strategic investments in Canadian nation-building projects [See: Major Projects Office].
Clean energy, health, AI, defence and agri-food:
The investments are intended to get major projects built faster and supercharge Canada’s 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.
Summer finalization:
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.
Transportation and security:
To further build this partnership, Prime Minister Carney announced that Canada will increase direct flights and boost tourism, through:
- 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.
Cultural ties:
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.
Today Carney said that business leaders from Qatar will visit or further engage with the Canadian economic leaders after Ramadan (which runs Feb 17 to March 19).
Health and life science:
While in Doha, the Prime Minister met with the Minister of Public Health of Qatar to reinforce shared priorities in health and life science.
Carney’s news release today underscores the potential for Canadian companies to grow their footprint in Qatar’s healthcare ecosystem, including in biotechnology and groundbreaking AI-driven health technologies.
Global capital:
Carney 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.
===== RELATED:
- Canada and China meet part-way on canola and EV’s (January 16, 2026)
- Prime Minister Carney to visit Qatar for bilateral engagement (January 8, 2026)
- Deepening bilateral engagement and economic cooperation between Canada and UAE (November 23, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: GLOBAL ECONOMY | 45th PARLIAMENT of CANADA | TRADE DIVERSIFICATION | SCIENCE & BIOTECH | MAJOR PROJECTS OFFICE