Saudi Arabia and Canada restore diplomatic ties, ending 2018 rift

CNN
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Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic ties with Canada on Wednesday, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement, ending a five-year rift over Riyadh’s imprisonment of activists who have harmed the trade and relations with the two countries.

The move follows discussions between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Bangkok, the statement added.

“It has been decided to restore the level of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia to its previous level,” Canada’s foreign ministry said in a statement, which also announced the restoration of relations.

The two countries also announced that the new Canadian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia would be Jean-Philippe Linteau and expressed their willingness to restore diplomatic relations based on mutual respect and common interests.

Canada’s relations with Saudi Arabia plunged in 2018 after officials in Ottawa accused the kingdom of human rights abuses and demanded the release of jailed activists.

Saudi Arabia responded by freezing new trade and investment deals, suspending flights to Canada, reassigning students studying there, and expelling Canada’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, while recalling its own. The response at the time struck some observers as a disproportionate overreaction to a relatively routine criticism of the country’s human rights record.

Saudi Arabia has recently prioritized domestic economic growth, which requires regional stability to succeed. The trillion-dollar economy has struggled to move away from its traditional reputation as a conservative and combative oil producer to become a global economic player and a key regional center for tourism and business.