Canada has invited Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held from 15-17 June in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Saudi Arabia is not a member of the G7 countries – which include the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, and Canada – but host nations invite influential heads of government to participate in the summit.
Canadian news outlet, CBC News, reported this after speaking to two government sources. It added that the Saudi embassy has not confirmed whether bin Salman will make the trip to Alberta next week.
The Crown Prince was also invited to the 50th edition of the Summit in Italy last year, but was unable to attend.
Prime Minister Mark Carney also sent a personal invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he has accepted. Canada has had a strained diplomatic relationship with both Saudi Arabia and India in the recent past.
The Prime Minister’s office has signalled that Carney is hoping to reach a deal on tariffs and trade around the G7 meetings.
