Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau has accepted in principle an invitation to visit Saudi Arabia and is expected to go there later this fall or early in the winter.
The existence since 1975 of a bilateral commission for trade and technical cooperation between Canada and Saudi Arabia and the fact that eastern Canada imports 40 percent of its oil from Saudi Arabia, makes this visit particularly important, Canadian officials said. The commercial exchange between the two countries has reached the $2 billion mark and is increasing. There are frequent exchanges of visits between Canadian and Saudi businessmen.
With Canada due to host the summit meeting of prime ministers and leaders of the industrial world in Ottawa in July, 1981, informed circles affirm that Trudeau will use the occasion to try to accommodate the views of the European Economic Community (EEC) leaders with those of Canada and the U.S. with respect to the Arab-Israeli conflict and Middle East problems in general.
After leaving Saudi Arabia, Trudeau will visit Amman, Jordan. The Jordanian government will be hosting on Arab summit meeting in mid-November and is keenly awaiting Trudeau’s visit. The Canadian leader is a personal friend of King Hussein and it is believed the Jordanians hope to steer him toward a more favorable attitude with respect to the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the “moderate” Arab states in resolving the Middle East conflict.
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