UAE and Canada sign initial pact to collaborate on AI and data centres

Data sovereignty remains critical for countries, Canadian AI Minister tells The National at Gitex

Evan Solomon, Canada's first AI Minister, said regulations were at the heart of building trust in the technology. Victor Besa / The National

The UAE has signed an initial pact with Canada focusing on artificial intelligence and digital innovation, in a move that is aimed at boosting bilateral ties.

The new agreement was signed by Mohamed Alsuwaidi, UAE's Minister of Investment, and Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

The countries will explore opportunities to collaborate in the digital infrastructure sector, with a focus on developing data centres and AI projects, the UAE's Ministry of Investment said in a post on X.

Under the pact, both countries will "exchange expertise and technical knowledge and support the establishment of innovative investment projects in advanced technology sectors", it said.

The deal strengthens a “partnership of investment” between the countries, Mr Solomon told The National on the sidelines of the Gitex exhibition in Dubai.

“Whether it's with our talent, some of our companies are here, like Cohere or OpenText or Telus Digital, BlackBerry – some great companies all across the spectrum," he said.

The companies have helped in "deepening the relationship and getting some of the sovereign wealth funds and some of the funds that are investing in Canada into data centres and infrastructure – that’s been great,” he added.

The UAE and Canada have been strengthening ties in recent years, with two-way trade valued at C$3.4 billion ($2.42 billion), up from about C$2.9 billion in 2023. An estimated 60,000 Canadians live and work in the UAE.

AI and technology has been a key area in which the countries are seeking to further boost ties.

“We see a lot more collaboration – our relationship with the UAE and this whole region will deepen,” said Mr Solomon, who is also Minister of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. "Our Prime Minister [Mark Carney] will be visiting the region as well to deepen that."

Ensuring responsible use of AI top of the agenda as Gitex kicks off

02:03

Having taken on the role of Canada’s first AI minister in May, he stressed the need for data sovereignty but also acknowledged that partnerships were key.

“Canada, like the UAE, like countries in Europe and around the world, is concerned about sovereignty, he said.

Sovereignty, however, does not mean solitude, "so you have to build your own capabilities, talent, research, commercialisation, companies, digital, you have to have sovereign data centres and cloud ... so you want partners", he said.

Canada, he said, has strong trading ties with countries and regions globally, including the UAE, the US, Europe and Asia, and is keen to strengthen those relationships.

“Our Prime Minister says, especially now in this day and age, it’s more important than ever to diversify trade and move from reliance on single places to resilience,” he said.

Mr Solomon also said it was essential to regulate AI to ensure people trust the technology. “On the regulation side, technology moves at the speed of innovation, but adoption of technology moves at the speed of trust. Our citizens demand that their privacy, their data, are secure, so we have regulations that secure that.

“Once it's trusted and secure, they still want access to innovation. That's the balance Canada is finding, that's the balance the UAE is [finding] and building together respects those parameters.”