Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH – The friendship between the Saudi Arabia and Canada was celebrated in Jeddah’s Park Hayat hotel on Tuesday.



Ambassador of Canada Thomas Macdonald and Honorary Consul General of Canada Mohammed Attar hosted a reception to celebrate bilateral relations with the attendance of a large number of diplomats, dignitaries, private sector officials, friends of Canada and media representatives.



The reception was part of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag that was held all over Canada on Feb. 15.



Welcoming the gathering, Macdonald stated Canada and Saudi Arabia enjoy close ties.



He told Saudi Gazette: “We are here to celebrate our strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is a very positive relationship and it is getting stronger.



“Canada and Saudi Arabia work together within a range of international organizations, including as co-members of the G20.



“We share many common interests, including on energy security, humanitarian and refugee affairs, counter-terrorism, and the facilitation of peaceful solutions to conflicts within the region.”



On the trade relations, he pointed out Saudi Arabia is currently Canada’s second largest export market for goods in the Middle East and also a leading market for consulting/engineering and other services.



“Under the Global Commerce Strategy, Canada is seeking to deepen and diversify its economic relations with the Kingdom through expanded and mutually beneficial partnerships in trade, investment and science and technology exchange,” he said.



He announced one of the most important features of the relationship with Saudi Arabia is the presence of some 16,000 Saudi students at Canadian educational institutions.



“All of those students are learning more about Canada, they are coming back with more knowledge and positive experiences of Canada and eventually they are going to build more bridges for many years between the two countries,” he said.



On Saudi-Canada relations, Macdonald said: “We have a positive relationship in a wide range of fields, including the energy sector, where we’re both global leaders.



“Saudi Arabia has the world’s largest oil reserves and Canada is number two or three in terms of oil reserves.



“We have a lot of common interest in energy security as we are both members of the G20.”



Macdonald added the two countries were also collaborating in the security sector including counterterrorism.“We share a lot of common views on regional issues ranging from Syria to Iran and other areas.”



Regarding visas for Saudis: “In a step to improve our service for issuing visas, nowadays we are doing visas normally in 10 days or less and we also opened visa centers in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al-Khobar. “Visa duration is given according to the life of passport.”



Macdonald praised Attar’s role in organizing a great number of important promotional trade and investment related activities as well as enhancing public awareness of Canada through various cultural, educational and public relations exchanges.



Attar said: “It is an honor for me to represent Canada here in Jeddah as the honorary consul general and as part of my role, it is my duty to look after all requirements of Canadians in this part of the country and at the same time, on the bilateral and trade relationship, I always try to improve the relationship between the two countries in both fields.”