The announcement of a Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA) and huge investments between Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is being hailed as a milestone. Prime Minister Mark Carney is using this development to show that his government is serious about diversifying Canada’s trade relationships. Negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Canada and the UAE are expected to follow.
Scratch below the surface, and the hype falls apart. Carney declared that the deal’s importance was based on building new relationships for Canada in a “more divided and dangerous world.” But indulging Abu Dhabi with trade deals and investment opportunities is not going to make for a safer and more united world. Even if Canada is forced to diversify its trade relationships away from the United States, these early signs from Carney are hardly a sign of a progressive alternative.
The UAE is facing increasing scrutiny for its increasingly imperial foreign policy. It participated in the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen and backs a separatist movement in the former South Yemen.
More controversial is its alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that are battling the Sudanese military. The RSF’s campaign for control of Sudan has reached genocidal proportions, with nearly 30,000 killed in the city of El Fasher in only a few days, according to Minni Minnawi, the governor of Darfur region, where El Fasher is located.
The UAE has become the fourth-largest investor in Africa after the United States, China, and the European Union. While the government touts its investments in African green energy and tourism projects, the UAE’s involvement in conflict gold is drawing increased attention. Unprocessed gold illicitly taken from Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo is routed through non-gold-producing countries like Libya and Uganda before winding up in the UAE. This has allowed Dubai to become one of the world’s three largest gold…
Auteur: Gerard Di Trolio
