#Saudi Arabia says #Canada's statement on the arrest of activists in the Kingdom is an unacceptable interference in its internal affairs, expels the Canadian ambassador and freezes all future trade. bbc.in/2vs6crl
"In her first public response to Saudi Arabia's actions, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday: 'Let me be very clear ... Canada will always stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world, and women's rights are human rights'." aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/s…
Direct investment was already down in #Saudi Arabia after some of the recent disturbances; this spat with #Canada is unlikely to help. on.wsj.com/2OgITYl
"Diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Germany have been strained since November, when Germany’s then-foreign minister criticized the kingdom for having pressured [Hariri] to resign. After that, [Riyadh] quietly ordered that no new contracts be awarded to German companies" #pt
As an overall assessment, weighing one thing and other, taking everything into consideration, today was one of the less good days for #Saudi Arabia, particularly its messaging and public-relations apparatus.
#Canada's intervention might have been ill-considered but the #Saudi reaction is overkill. "If trade relations can be affected by mere tweets, the small queue of investors looking to do business with Riyadh is likely to shrink further." middleeasteye.net/columns/there-…
