Minister Solomon concludes visit to Germany to advance Canada's international AI partnerships

The Minister's engagements in Berlin focused on advancing AI sovereignty and deepening Canada's cooperation with its European partners

BERLIN, Nov. 3, 2026 /CNW/ -- Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how countries innovate, compete, and build economic resilience. As Canada strengthens its AI capabilities at home, working with trusted international partners is essential to supporting responsible innovation and creating opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses.

Today, the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, concluded a visit to Germany, where he participated in Germany's 2026 Digital Summit and met with international counterparts and AI industry leaders to advance cooperation on AI, digital transformation and economic security.

At the Digital Summit, the Minister delivered keynote remarks during the "Tech Middle Powers Cooperation: Building a Sovereign Technology Alliance" session, highlighting the importance of trusted international partnerships in shaping the future of AI. He also participated in a ministerial discussion hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on "Shaping AI: From Sovereignty to Scale," where international leaders explored how countries can strengthen their AI ecosystem while supporting innovation and economic competitiveness.

The Minister also met with Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation. The ministers reaffirmed the importance of AI and digital technologies to economic growth and resilience and discussed opportunities to build upon their Sovereign Technology Alliance and the recent announcements made by the two countries to invest in LawZero and to support the growth of Cohere following its merger with Aleph Alpha. They also emphasized the importance of promoting AI safety through international collaboration and common AI standards.

The visit also underscored Canada's commitment to strengthening ties with European partners. Alongside his engagements with Germany, the Minister met with Anne Le Hénanff, France's Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Willemijn Aerdts, the Netherlands' Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty, and Viktor Rossi, Switzerland's Federal Chancellor. He also met with representatives from SAP, Schwarz Digits and Giesecke+Devrient to discuss opportunities for collaboration on AI adoption and digital innovation in Canada.

Canada is working to build an AI future that supports economic growth, strengthens digital resilience and promotes the safe and responsible development of AI. As outlined in Canada's National AI Strategy: AI for All, international partnerships play an important role in advancing these objectives and helping Canadian innovators and businesses succeed in global markets.

Quotes

"Canada's message is clear: trusted partnerships are essential to building an innovative and secure AI future for all. With Germany and European allies, Canada is advancing     partnerships that will strengthen AI safety, support innovation, grow our economies and help our workers and businesses succeed in an increasingly digital world."

– The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

"Canada and Germany deepened their close partnership at the Digital Summit in Berlin. We share the goal of developing safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence and harnessing its economic potential. Our approach is sovereignty through partnership, which means pooling our research and business capabilities, reducing technological dependencies and creating new opportunities for our companies. Together with Minister Solomon, I am committed to taking this cooperation forward." 

– Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation

Quick facts

• Under the theme 'Shaping AI: safe, sovereign, competitive', the 2026 Digital Summit builds on discussions from the 2025 Summit on European Digital Sovereignty and explores the opportunities and challenges of AI, including its governance, applications, security and ecosystem development.
• In February 2026, Canada and Germany launched the Sovereign Technology Alliance (STA), an initiative that will deepen collaboration with trusted partners to use common AI models, share digital infrastructure, access capital and participate in joint research. The STA builds on the Canada–Germany Digital Alliance announced in December 2025 and the Canada-Germany joint declaration of intent on AI cooperation, which anchor growing bilateral cooperation.
• On June 4, 2026, the Government of Canada launched Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All. 

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Contacts: Leela Polushin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]