Minister Anand to travel to Romania, Türkiye and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

From: Global Affairs Canada

News release

July 5, 2026 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will travel to Bucharest, Romania, Ankara, Türkiye, and Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from July 6 to 10, 2026.

In Bucharest on July 6, Minister Anand will reaffirm Canada’s solidarity with NATO Ally Romania, which has faced repeated Russian drone incursions into its sovereign territory. Minister Anand will also reaffirm Canada’s commitment to contributing to deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank and to supporting security in the Black Sea region, including through the Royal Canadian Navy’s participation in a joint demining operation on Romania’s Black Sea coast. This aims to eliminate drifting mines and maritime drones and increase freedom of navigation.

While in Bucharest, Minister Anand will meet with Romanian President Nicușor Dan, Oana-Silvia Țoiu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, and other senior officials to identify economic opportunities—including in the strategic sectors of nuclear energy and defence production—that will drive economic growth and prosperity for the two countries, and discuss shared priorities ahead of the 2026 NATO Summit.

In Ankara on July 7 and 8, Minister Anand will join Prime Minister Mark Carney at the 2026 NATO Summit to further strengthen Canada’s contributions to the NATO Alliance, forge new partnerships with Allies and build shared security, including in defence of Ukraine. She will participate in a meeting between NATO Allies and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partners—Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates—to discuss recent developments in the region and enhanced NATO-Gulf cooperation. She will also participate in a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council to bolster coordinated support for Ukraine. As Canada undertakes its largest increase in defence investment in a generation and expands defence partnerships across the Atlantic, Minister Anand will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts to reinforce Canada’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic security and a stronger and more unified Alliance.

In Jeddah on July 9 and 10, Minister Anand will join Prime Minister Carney for a bilateral visit to deepen the partnership across energy, critical minerals, defence, infrastructure, and investment.  These efforts will focus on expanding trade, promoting two-way investment, and advancing cooperation in priority sectors, including mining, artificial intelligence, cleantech, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, and life sciences. 

Quick facts

  • In one year, Canada has modernized and streamlined its defence procurement with the launch of its Defence Investment Agency and its Defence Industrial Strategy. Canada is the first non-European nation to join the Security Action for Europe initiative, and it has secured more than 20 economic and security partnerships across five continents.

  • Established at the 2004 NATO Summit in Türkiye, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative is a partnership forum that aims to contribute to long-term global and regional security by offering non-NATO countries in the broader Middle East region the opportunity to cooperate with NATO.

  • Canada and Romania enjoy positive bilateral relations as like-minded partners and NATO Allies, with strong people-to-people ties.

  • Canada enjoys a strong commercial relationship with Romania, in part due to the preferential market access provided by the provisional application of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

  • The two countries have collaborated on nuclear energy for over 55 years. Canadian CANDU reactor technology used by Romania’s Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant generates almost 20% of the country’s electricity.

  • Canada and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia share a longstanding relationship amid common interests in economic growth and diversification, regional and international security, and global peace and stability.

  • As the only G20 member from the Arab world, Saudi Arabia is a leading partner in the Middle East and an influential global actor, as well as a valued security and economic partner for Canada and its allies.

  • Minister Anand last visited the Kingdom on March 30, 2026, where she met with his Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs to strengthen bilateral relations, advance Canada’s priorities in the region and shared regional security priorities.

  • Saudi Arabia is Canada’s second-largest trading partner in the Gulf region, with bilateral trade totalling $3.5 billion in 2025.

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2026-07-05