Relations restored, human rights next?
Experts say having Canadian envoy in Saudi Arabia will help open dialogue on issues of concern
As China and Russia are asserting greater influence in Europe and Asia, restoring ties with Saudi Arabia is the right move forward for Canada, despite human rights concerns, experts say.
Canada announced Wednesday that it is normalizing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and appointing ambassadors, five years after a rift.
Saudi Arabia expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its ambassador, after Ottawa expressed concern over the arrests of activists in Saudi Arabia, including prominent women’s rights campaigner Samar Badawi in August 2018 . The Saudi government also banned new trade with Canada.
“Open and effective channels of communication are important, including with problematic actors like Saudi Arabia,” Roland Paris, a professor of international affairs and the director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, told the Star in an email.
“Having a Canadian ambassador in the kingdom will facilitate that communication, which is a good thing,” continued Paris, who once was a senior foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The normalization comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been rebuilding fractured relations with western powers in an effort to make his country the region’s energy powerhouse at a critical time when war between Ukraine with Russia has ripple effects on the global economy.
“Having ambassadors in our respective capitals will allow for a higher level reciprocal contact and dialogue,” echoed Masud Hussein, Canada’s former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
“It’s hopefully an important signal that both countries want to renew the trade and people contacts that were very vibrant, particularly Saudi students in Canada.”
The rift led Saudi Arabia to send fewer students to Canada, after years of having a significant presence in university classrooms and teaching hospitals.
“Having higher level contact will also allow better channels to discuss issues of concern including human rights but also security and stability in a very important region,” Hussein said.
Wednesday’s decision was prompted by discussions between Trudeau and the crown prince in November, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Bangkok, both countries said in their statements.
“The Saudis were very present at APEC and Trudeau seized the opportunity while he was away from home to renew fractured relations with them,” said Ferry de Kerckhove, a former Canadian diplomat.
“I would say that the change has primarily come from Saudi Arabia. There is a clear effort in Riyadh to stabilize the country’s foreign relations and extract the country from costly foreign entanglements,” Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, wrote in an email to the Star.
“By exchanging ambassadors with Canada again, Saudi Arabia can turn the page on this dispute too, and send the message to other western democracies that it is open for business,” Juneau said.
“Canada might have felt compelled to support the U.S. in ensuring Saudi Arabia remained part of the western fold, considering it is expanding relations with China and Russia,” de Kerckhove said.
“There is a fragile regional balance in the Middle East which has become more susceptible to China’s influence.”
Saudi Arabia agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in March, as a “dialogue partner,” indicating the country’s continued pursuit of closer political ties with China.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 to promote peace, economic development, and security in the region.
Through this partnership, as well as major energy deals, Saudi Arabia’s economy is growing at a rapid rate that Canada cannot ignore, de Kerckhove said, and Canada may be able to capitalize on business opportunities it missed out on before.
The move does not change Canada’s stance on human rights, de Kerckhove said, and there needs to be some balancing act.
“There will be cries and screams against the move, but it is good international politics, and it is about time Canada decides on some foreign policy interests. We are (following) in the footsteps of every country in the western world, France is notably kissing Saudi Arabia’s proverbial a-- in pursuit of its economic interests.”
Saudi Arabia has been boycotted by the western world since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in at a Saudi consulate in Turkey by a Saudi hit squad in 2018.
Dozens of Saudi human rights defenders and activists serve long prison sentences for criticizing authorities or advocating for political and rights reforms, according to Human Rights Watch. Saudi Arabia has denied findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that the crown prince approved the 2018 murder of Khashoggi.
“I have no doubt that some in Canada will criticize this move by arguing that it rewards Mohammed bin Salman despite his abysmal human rights record. I think this criticism misses the mark, though,” said Juneau, explaining it is easier to promote human rights, and other Canadian interests, with an ambassador than it is without one.
The benefits for Canada will be limited, according to some experts.
“Saudi Arabia was never a major trade or diplomatic partner for us. Moreover, it is still not clear to me how much both sides are willing to work to expand relations beyond the exchange of ambassadors,” Juneau said.