Agreement Reached w/Saudi Arabia On Re-Exchange Of Trade Delegations

Saudi state television is reporting that Canada and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on the re-exchange of trade delegations. This comes after five years of suspended activity during the two nations' period without diplomatic relations. Canada and Saudi Arabia re-established diplomatic relations in May 2023, having suspended links in 2018.

• The collapse came about following a tweet in Arabic from the Canadian embassy in Riyadh that called for the release of women's rights activists detained by Saudi authorities. In response, the Saudi gov't recalled its ambassador from Ottawa, barred the Canadian envoy from returning, and implementing a ban on new trade.
• At the time of the normalisation in May, Reuters reported "Saudi Arabia was the biggest export market for Canada in the [MENA] region in 2021, according to official data, when they totaled C$2.2 billion ($1.65 billion). Imports were $2.4 billion. Almost all Canada's imports were oil and petrochemicals. More than 80% of exports to Saudi Arabia were transportation equipment."
• The exchange of trade delegations comes just days after a call between Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Arab News: "The crown prince and Justin Trudeau discussed relations between the Kingdom and Canada and ways to enhance them, [...].They also spoke about regional developments and efforts made regarding them to achieve security and stability."