KUWAIT CITY, Jan 11: A delegation of Canadian businessmen intends to visit Kuwait next month as part of a Gulf tour that includes Qatar and the UAE, with the aim of enhancing trade exchanges and investments between Canada and the three Gulf countries, reports Al-Qabas daily. A report published by Radio Canada International on its website stated that the volume of direct Kuwaiti investments in Canada is the largest compared to Qatar and the UAE, amounting to $2.3 billion, while the volume of Canadian direct investments in Kuwait amounts to $118 million.

Modestly, the volume of Canadian merchandise exports to Kuwait amounted to $96.4 million in 2020, while the value of Canadian imports of Kuwaiti goods amounted to $277,000. The delegation is led by the Canadian-Arab Trade Council, which is based in Toronto, and includes representatives of Canadian companies operating in several sectors, including clean energy, industrial intelligence, and agriculture.

The radio quoted the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian-Arab Trade Council, Muhammad Sawaf, as saying that the mission of this council, which was established in 2006, is to promote trade and investments between Canada and Arab countries, whether in the Middle East or North Africa. According to Sawaf, this economic mission to three Gulf countries is an opportunity to communicate and build business relations.

Expansion
It will also allow Canadian companies to get closely acquainted with the possibility of expansion in the region, and to attract investors in sectors that are considered more beneficial such as technology, food industries, the automotive industry, and real estate development. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian- Arab Trade Council pointed out that Canadian residents in the Gulf countries represent a trump card for trade between their country and the region, noting that about 50 thousand Canadians live in the UAE after they left Canada to work in the Gulf.

According to Ottawa, 9,000 Canadians live in Qatar and work in Canadian and Qatari companies and agencies, while 7,000 Canadians live in Kuwait, where they work in important sectors such as the oil industry, education, health, financial services and engineering. Radio Canada International pointed out that since 2019, about 450 Kuwaiti students are pursuing their studies in Canada, most of them in the field of medicine, while the Algonquin College was the first Canadian college to open in Kuwait in Al-Jahra Governorate in 2015.