France It is the first stop that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney makes in Europa before the G7 Summit next Monday. In Paris, Carney met with the president Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace to discuss how to boost the strategic partnership between both countries, and formalize the transfer of G7 presidency from Canada to France. Both leaders celebrated the “approach” of the North American country to Europe in the face of “return of power dynamics”, alluding to the turbulence generated by Donald Trump.
“More than ever, we share a common vision of the world,” President Macron began by saying this Friday to continue highlighting the international tensions of recent years. “We observe that the international order is fragmented, marked by a return to power struggles, challenges to common norms and economic coercion.”
The French president placed Canada among “the countries geopolitically closest to the European Union”, especially after his participation in the coalition of volunteers in support of Ukraine, which he described as “a sign of coherence, also at the operational and military level.” Macron and Carney also addressed issues such as artificial intelligence, the aerospace industry, quantum technologies and access to critical minerals to build a “lucid, strong and capable of working together” democracy. “Therefore, we must strengthen our decision-making autonomy, our economic security, and our economic, industrial, and technological resilience,” Macron declared at the press conference after the meeting.
France is Canada’s third largest export market within the European Union and its fifth largest source of foreign investment. In this contextCarney seeks with his visit to attract new investments and create new opportunities for Canadian industries. His agenda also includes meetings with prominent business executives. “In the last year, the Trade exchanges between Canada and France have increased by 10%. For the new year we have signed new cooperation agreements in defense, quantum technology and transportation,” the Canadian Prime Minister announced. “The next world order will probably be built from Europe, and Canada will be part of that initiative,” he stated.
Humanitarian aid in Gaza
Both leaders took advantage of their meeting, coinciding with the high-level conference on the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, to insist that this path is the only way to achieve lasting peace in the region. In this context, Carney announced that his country will contribute 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid urgently to assist Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
This bilateral meeting could be one of the last between both leaders, since Macron’s second term ends in May 2027. “The meeting at the G7 will help us consolidate ties with our allies in matters of energy, trade, culture and technology,” said the Canadian.
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