The Saudi Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that 15,000 Canadians were living in a “safe society” in Saudi Arabia.
It made the announcement in a tweet on its official Twitter account, which it accompanied with an info-graphic on Canadians residing in the Kingdom.
“We respect and work with them. They are enjoying a secure society, which we live in,” it added.
“They are aware of the extent of the advancement in the Kingdom and the Saudi society's passion for development,” it stressed.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday froze new trade with Canada and expelled the Canadian ambassador in retaliation to Ottawa’s meddling in its internal affairs. It also ended state-backed educational and medical programs in Canada, making plans to relocate tens of thousands of Saudi students and patients to other countries.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir ruled out on Wednesday the possibility of holding mediations to resolve the diplomatic row with Canada.
He said: “There is nothing to mediate. A mistake has been made and a mistake should be corrected."
The dispute erupted when Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted last week that she was “very concerned” about whom she called civil society activists that were arrested in the Kingdom.
She also urged Saudi authorities to release them immediately in what the Kingdom deemed as “flagrant meddling in its internal affairs.”
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