November 23, 2025
Johannesburg, South Africa
Canada’s new government is moving from reliance to resilience, building a dense web of new connections to attract investment, diversify trade, and double non-U.S. exports over the next decade.
Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is concluding his participation at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa – the first to be hosted on the African continent. This year’s summit brought together nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP, and almost three-quarters of world trade.
South Africa is Canada’s largest trading partner on the continent. In Johannesburg, the Prime Minister met with the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to further deepen commercial ties and strengthen cooperation in critical minerals, energy, and advanced technologies. To that end, the leaders:
- Announced the launch of discussions toward a potential Canada-South Africa Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, to help create a more predictable environment for two-way investment.
- Welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the Canada-South Africa Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. Once in force, this agreement will provide a strong framework for collaboration on clean energy.
- Recognised the opening of FinDev Canada’s new regional office in Cape Town in 2026, which will expand Canadian investment across the continent, building on more than $318 million provided by FinDev Canada in 2025 alone.
- Welcomed South Africa’s public endorsement of the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan and Roadmap, opening the door to stronger collaboration on responsible and resilient high-standard critical minerals supply chains.
- Announced that Canada will welcome a trade mission from South Africa next year. The delegation will participate in the Ag in Motion trade fair in Saskatchewan, which will bring together international and Canadian leaders in agriculture innovation.
Prime Minister Carney met with the Prime Minister of Vietnam and incoming CPTPP Chair, Phạm Minh Chính, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to discuss new trade and investment pathways. The Prime Minister outlined his vision to bring together the Asia-centred CPTPP and the European Union (EU) – two of the world’s largest trading blocs, with a combined market of over 1 billion consumers – to strengthen supply chains, expand trade, and catalyse investment. The leaders agreed to work together toward deeper CPTPP-EU economic integration, and the Prime Minister instructed his Personal Representative to the EU, John Hannaford, to mobilise engagement toward this goal, with a view to delivering significant early progress in 2026.
On the margins of the Summit, Canada, Australia, and India announced a new trilateral technology and innovation partnership that will strengthen cooperation on critical minerals, clean energy, and AI.
At the Summit, the Prime Minister met with government and business leaders to highlight Canada’s strengths in clean and conventional energy, critical minerals, AI, advanced manufacturing, and agri-food – sectors that support millions of Canadian careers. He underscored Canada’s mission to unleash $1 trillion in investment over the next five years to grow these sectors and transform our economy.
As part of Canada’s G7 Presidency, Prime Minister Carney also worked with counterparts to strengthen coordination on economic, security, and development priorities shared across the G7 and G20 agendas. He announced new Canadian financial loans and capital to partner countries, harnessing Canada’s strengths and expertise in infrastructure, clean energy, AI, research and innovation, and disaster and wildfire response. Canada also announced a $1 billion pledge to the Global Fund to protect millions of people from deadly infectious diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The Prime Minister also addressed pressing geopolitical challenges and reiterated Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
At the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the Prime Minister also met with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, to discuss various areas of cooperation and new partnerships.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit followed the Prime Minister’s visit to the United Arab Emirates, where Canada secured a $70-billion foreign investment commitment – the largest in Canadian history. In a rapidly changing and more uncertain world, Canada is creating new partnerships, growing our markets, and strengthening our industries to deliver high-paying careers for Canadians.
Quote
“Canada’s new government is building new partnerships, diversifying trade, and unleashing $1 trillion in new investment over the next five years. At the core of this mission is forging new partnerships and leading our partners in this new era of cooperation. At the G20 Leaders’ Summit, Canada accelerated cooperation in critical minerals, AI, and energy, made investments to protect global health, and focused on creating transformative new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses.”
— The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
Quick facts
- This was Prime Minister Carney’s first official visit to South Africa, as well as his first participation in the G20 Leaders’ Summit as Prime Minister.
- The Prime Minister was accompanied at the Summit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand.
- Under the theme of “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”, South Africa identified four priorities for the Summit:
- Strengthening disaster resilience and response.
- Taking action to ensure debt sustainability for low-income countries.
- Mobilising finance for a just energy transition.
- Harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
- As one of Africa’s most diversified and largest economies, South Africa is a prime destination for Canadian goods and services. In 2024, two-way trade between our two countries totalled $2.91 billion.
Related products
- Backgrounder: Prime Minister Carney strengthens trade and investment partnerships at the G20 Leaders’ Summit
- Prime Minister Carney meets with President of France Emmanuel Macron
- Prime Minister Carney meets with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Vietnam Phạm Minh Chính
- Prime Minister Carney meets with Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre
- Prime Minister Carney meets with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
- G20 South Africa Summit: Leaders’ Final Declaration
Associated links
November 23, 2025
Johannesburg, South Africa
Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, met on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Prime Minister Carney and Federal Chancellor Merz emphasised the close economic and security relationship between Canada and Germany and discussed partnerships in critical minerals, clean energy, AI, aerospace, and defence. Last week, Canada and Germany reached a $1 billion agreement for the purchase of a Canadian Combat Management System, a testament to the growing commercial relationship. The leaders agreed to cooperate on Sovereign AI projects.
The Prime Minister and the Federal Chancellor reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine and underscored that any settlement must include Ukraine’s involvement, respect Ukraine’s core interests, and provide security guarantees. The two leaders committed to working with Allies to reach a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East. They noted their support of the Comprehensive Peace Plan to end the war in Gaza and the importance of all parties continuing to engage constructively on the next steps. The leaders agreed on the need to allow the entry of humanitarian assistance at scale.
Prime Minister Carney and Federal Chancellor Merz agreed to remain in close contact.
