Anand says women are key in pursuit of shared economic growth with African countries

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is pushing for more airline connections, trade and security projects with African nations, including through boosting the role of women on the continent to foster economic growth.

“This is what we call the trade-development nexus. It is not one or the other, it is not silos,” Anand said Thursday in a telephone interview from Abidjan, the economic hub of the Ivory Coast.

“There is a definite aspect to supporting the strength of women in the workforces here.”

Anand visited Benin’s economic hub Cotonou on Wednesday to open Canada’s new embassy. It was the first visit by a Canadian foreign minister to that country.

The new embassy was part of the Africa strategy the Trudeau government released in its last days in office, after much delay and criticism of the document’s lack of significant spending commitments.

That strategy called for a retooled foreign policy which couples foreign aid with the pursuit of economic partnerships with African countries poised for a demographic and economic boom.

Advocates for more engagement in Africa have warned that Canada is falling behind both its peers and adversaries on forming closer ties on the continent that could pay off for decades, a view echoed by Canadian senators of various factions.

Anand’s visit is the first to the continent by a Canadian foreign minister since the federal Liberals launched the Africa strategy in March 2025 — with the exception of a brief visit to the G20 summit in Johannesburg last November.

While the Carney government is trimming the size of the foreign service and shifting its focus to Europe, the Indo-Pacific and Gulf countries, it chose to proceed with the Trudeau government’s pledge to open an embassy in Benin.

“This reflects the growing importance of our bilateral relationship and Canada’s commitment to strengthening ties with West Africa in general,” Anand said.

“We have ties not only economically and commercially but also through our collaboration within la Francophonie. We are strengthening our friendship and expanding co-operation across multiple shared priorities, (including) security and defence.”

Anand said Ottawa wants to build on already strong trade ties with the Ivory Coast through investments aimed at building up companies that can conduct more trade with Canada.

“Côte d’Ivoire is a country that has priority standing in our Africa strategy,” she said.

“Canada brings to the table commercial ties such as in the area of geostrategic mapping as well as in the mining sector. And these are areas where Côte d’Ivoire wants to co-operate on to realize its own economic ambitions.”

Global Affairs Canada says the Ivory Coast has “significant growth potential” in trade with Canada through mining, oil, infrastructure, agriculture, education and clean technologies.

Anand said the two countries have launched talks on updating their air transport agreement to allow for direct flights.

She said this could help expand private sector collaboration between the two countries. Anand said Canadian companies active in Africa like Ottawa-based Sander Geophysics — which undertakes airborne surveys for petroleum and mineral exploration — and Toronto-based renewable energy firm JCM Power have given Canada an edge on the continent.

“The underlying way in which these private sector links will grow is through Canadian companies operating across the African continent, showing by example that it is profitable to be here,” Anand said. “Canada has the expertise that the world wants, and every corner of the world matters in that respect.”

Canada largely exports automotive parts and fertilizer to Benin and the Ivory Coast and imports food, such as Ivorian cocoa.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said last year he wouldn’t describe Canada’s foreign policy as feminist, raising fears about Canadian programs on sexual health and abortion rights.

Anand said women remain at the centre of Canada’s diplomatic outreach in Africa, particularly through efforts to broaden their opportunities in the workforce.

Canada’s development finance institution FinDev announced Thursday a roughly $65 million loan to a major Ivorian bank to help local people access financing. It said 30 per cent of the loan would be directed at women-owned small businesses.

Anand announced $17 million in funding for various projects Thursday, including efforts to get more women working in the Ivorian energy sector.

“My whole team with me on this trip are women. Every single person,” said Anand, whose parents worked as doctors in Nigeria.

“When I was growing up, my mother spoke about the importance of women in West Africa, and here I’m seeing it with my own eyes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press