RIYADH, 23 January — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has been invited by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien to visit Ottawa. This was disclosed by Gildas L. Molgat, speaker of the Canadian Senate, here last night. Molgat is currently visiting Saudi Arabia at the head of a Canadian parliamentary delegation.
"We are looking forward to Crown Prince Abdullah's visit, which may be on the occasion of the inauguration of the new Saudi Embassy building in Ottawa," Molgat said. An invitation has also been extended by the Canadian speaker to the Shoura Council President Sheikh Muhammad ibn Jubair to visit Canada in a move that could be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between the Canadian Senate and the Shoura Council.
Referring to his talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Prince Abdullah, Molgat said, "I praise the strong desire of the Saudi leaders to further improve the welfare of the Saudi people by making sure that the Kingdom plays an active part as a contributor to globalization, while getting a fair share of its benefits."
He also held talks with Health Minister Dr. Osama Shubokshi and Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari. The Canadian official said that the two sides agreed to boost cooperation in health sector to improve health care services. They have agreed to facilitate more admissions of Saudi students to Canadian professional and vocational courses and training programs.
On the commercial front, the two countries have forged closer relations. The two-way trade figure for the year 2000 is estimated to exceed $1 billion mark.
On Canada's support in WTO negotiations, Molgat said his country supported Saudi Arabia’s application to join the WTO. "We are looking forward to the possible accession of Saudi Arabia as a WTO member before the end of this year".
Asked about Canada's position on the Middle East peace process, Molgat said Canada was a strong supporter of the peace process. Canada was honored to be invited to preside over the multilateral Refugee Working Group and under Canada's leadership, the Refugee Working Group has made a considerable contribution to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian refugees.
He called on the Israelis and the Palestinians to work toward the complete cessation of hostilities.
Canada had contributed $1.1 million in emergency assistance to international organizations including a recent contribution of $600,000. It had provided $165 million for the development projects in the Palestinian territories and to address the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees.
