Saudi recalls ambassador to Canada, suspends future investments
Saudi recalls ambassador to Canada and suspends future investments: Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Canada and given Canada’s ambassador to Riyadh 24 hours to leave, according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. The kingdom will also suspend new trade and investment with Canada. The move was taken after Canada’s Foreign Ministry urged Riyadh to release arrested civil rights activists Raif and Samar Badawi. “KSA through its history has not and will not accept any form of interfering in the internal affairs of the Kingdom. The KSA considers the Canadian position an attack on the KSA and requires a firm stance to deter who attempts to undermine the sovereignty of the KSA,” reads the Saudi Foreign Ministry statement on Twitter. See coverage in Canada’s Globe and Mail as well as Reuters and Bloomberg.
Riyadh is also in the headlines after reopening the Bab El Mandeb strait to oil tankers passing through the area to the Suez Canal, the Saudi state news agency reported on Saturday. Saudi authorities have reinforced security around the strait, which was closed down last month after two Saudi oil tankers were attacked by Yemen Houthi rebels.
KSA readies to meet supply demand when Iran sanctions returns: Crude oil exports from the OPEC’s GCC members fell by about 1.1 mn bbl/d last month, after surging in June, according to Bloomberg. These additional stockpiles should help the GCC, and Saudi in particular, to offset the sanctions that will be re-imposed on Iran.