Deepening Canada's commercial footprint in priority markets creates jobs, growth and prosperity in every region of Canada, says Minister Fast

January 28, 2014 - The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today presented some of the findings from Canada's State of Trade: Trade and Investment Update 2013, a publication of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.

"Thanks to our government's proactive engagement with the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Canadian businesses are increasingly successful in this region and our exports have reached record levels," said Minister Fast. "That's why we'll continue to create jobs, growth and new opportunities for Canadians by opening new markets for our exporters in priority markets as we advance Canada's trade and investment interests around the world."

According to the State of Trade report, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) remains Canada's largest export destination in the Middle East and North Africa region, with $1.5 billion in exports. Canola seeds, aircraft and wheat constitute the core of Canada's exports to the U.A.E. Exports to Saudi Arabia were a close second in 2012, with Canada's total exports up 61.1 percent to $1.4 billion.

"Our government is committed to helping our world-class businesses expand and succeed around the world, which we know creates new jobs and sources of prosperity here at home," said Minister Fast. "Under Canada's Global Markets Action Plan, we are playing to Canada's strengths in key markets and ensuring that we are helping our businesses any way we can."

The U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a group of six nations that comprises the most prosperous countries in the Middle East and has a rapidly growing economy worth over $1.5 trillion. Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and GCC nations in 2012 exceeded $6.7 billion, with exports from Canada up 55.6 percent since 2007.

Canada's State of Trade: Trade and Investment Updatewas released on December 27, 2013. It provides an annual overview of trends in international trade in goods and services. It includes numerous figures and tables detailing Canada's performance in key markets, reports on trade and investment with NAFTA countries, updates of progress made under other free trade agreements and summaries of Canada's current and financial accounts with the United States, the European Union, Japan and other trading partners.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Rudy Husny
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade
613-992-7332

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