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Saudi Arabia, Canada to restore full diplomatic ties

By AFP 24 May 2023, 9:25 pm Edit
A man stands outside the Canadian Embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on August 7, 2018, one day after Saudi Arabia said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and recalling its envoy while freezing all new trade, in retaliation for Ottawa's vigorous calls for the release of jailed activists. (AFP/ Nasser al-Harbi)
A man stands outside the Canadian Embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on August 7, 2018, one day after Saudi Arabia said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and recalling its envoy while freezing all new trade, in retaliation for Ottawa's vigorous calls for the release of jailed activists. (AFP/ Nasser al-Harbi)

Saudi Arabia and Canada will restore full diplomatic relations, the kingdom says, following a 2018 dispute over human rights that saw Riyadh expel Ottawa’s ambassador and freeze new trade.

The decision, also announced by Canada’s foreign ministry, comes after talks last year between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Bangkok.

“It has been decided to restore the level of diplomatic relations with Canada to its previous state,” Saudi’s foreign ministry says in a statement.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says the two countries will “appoint new ambassadors” and a Canadian foreign ministry statement names Jean-Phillipe Linteau as Ottawa’s new envoy to the kingdom.

In 2018, the Saudi government expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own envoy to Ottawa, while freezing all new trade over vigorous calls for the release of activists jailed in the kingdom.

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