Five years after ties were severed due to the Canadian foreign ministry’s criticism of the kingdom’s detention of human-rights activists, Saudi Arabia and Canada agreed on Wednesday to restore full diplomatic relations and select new ambassadors.
The action follows Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flurry of diplomacy during President Biden’s visit to the country last summer. The West had shunned the de facto Saudi ruler since the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The crown prince has recently been positioned as a vital figure in the larger Middle East by the kingdom. Last week, Mohammed convened a summit at which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unexpected appearance and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was welcomed back into the regional fold. Previously, Riyadh hosted separate meetings between rival Sudanese generals, opposing Palestinian factions, and Yemen’s different administrations. In a deal mediated by China, it agreed to reestablish contacts with Iran in March.
The Saudi prince’s impulsive approach to global affairs, which included halting flights and freezing new business and investment in the nation, was an early indicator of the Saudi prince’s impulsive attitude to global affairs, which alarmed foreign investors. It happened after the embassy expressed worry about the arrest of the sister of a liberal Saudi blogger whose wife sought shelter in Canada when her husband was detained years ago.
The same user tweeted the announcement of reestablished ties on Wednesday, with the message: “Exciting news today!”
While Saudi Arabia’s regional influence has increased and Mohammed’s image has improved, rights groups say the monarchy has not relaxed its crackdown on free expression. Some activists from 2018 have been released, while many more remain imprisoned, and others have been imprisoned in the last year for expressing seemingly innocuous internet complaints.
The diplomatic reunion followed a conversation between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November during a conference in Thailand, the nations said in a statement.
The Saudi foreign ministry did not reply immediately to concerns about their meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference last year. Trudeau’s spokeswoman declined to comment.
Trudeau told reporters at the time that he attended a luncheon with the Saudi prince and other dignitaries, and that he discussed human rights throughout the event. He stated that it is his responsibility to have “difficult conversations” with countries like Saudi Arabia, as well as “look at ways to move forward on things that matter to all of us, like climate change.”
Jean-Philippe Linteau, Canada’s consul general in Dubai, has been named ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
