Saudi Arabia Stops All Medical Treatment Programmes in Canada

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has stopped all medical treatment programmes in Canada and is coordinating for the transfer of Saudi patients to medical facilities outside the country, Saudi press agency reported on Wednesday. The agency cited Dr. Fahd bin Ibrahim Al Tamimi, Saudi Health Attache in the US and Canada, as saying that “the mission seeks to ensure the safety of Saudi patients who receive treatment in Canada with their companions, and to complete their treatment elsewhere”. The move came amid an intensifying spat over human rights between the two countries, after Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s Ambassador in Riyadh, recalled its own Ambassador from Ottawa and froze “all new business” with Canada. (IANS)