RIYADH, 2 March — Canadian Ambassador Melvyn M. MacDonald has said that his country has no plans to impose restrictions on Saudi nationals.
Despite the strict measures introduced by US authorities for issuance of visas to the Saudis following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, “Saudis, in fact, are not required to obtain pre-entry visas for Canada,” MacDonald told a press conference here on Wednesday.
He said no Saudi student had returned from Canada after Sept. 11.
During the press briefing, he spoke on a range of issues of common interest, including bilateral cooperation in health sector and the Middle East peace process. The briefing was also attended by Yves Duval, third secretary at the embassy.
Referring to efforts to promote Canada as a major educational and tourist destination, the diplomat said, “We are encouraging Saudi medical personnel to travel to Canada for postgraduate training.”
A large number of Canadian doctors and nurses work in the Kingdom.
The Canadian government has clarified that the Saudis do not need visas to travel to Canada despite the harsh US demands, the envoy said.
He said the Canadian secretary of state for Middle East would visit the Gulf region by end of this month. “This is a new Cabinet-rank position created by Canada a month ago. This will help create greater understanding of issues related to the Middle East in the Canadian Cabinet, said the envoy.
On the commercial relations between Riyadh and Ottawa, he said the Saudi-Canadian Joint Economic Commission will meet in Canada on June 10.
Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal Al-Turki, chief of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, will lead a delegation to Canada by the middle of this year.
Canada, he said, has reaffirmed its position of support to immediate accession of Saudi Arabia into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Kingdom and Canada have agreed to sign the bilateral agreement within the framework of the WTO provisions after holding final negotiations on tariffs, service sector and insurance industry.
