UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, receives Prime Minister Mark Carney before a meeting at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi, on Thursday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney pitched Canada to heavyweight investors in the United Arab Emirates Thursday, and launched negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the Gulf-region financial hub.

The Gulf, with its trillions of dollars in investment capital, is one of several priority regions for Canada, along with Europe and Asia, as it seeks to diversify trade away from the increasingly unreliable U.S. under President Donald Trump . That has made attracting foreign investment in energy, infrastructure, artificial intelligence and resources a high priority.

On Thursday, Mr. Carney met with top executives from state-owned sovereig

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