Sharan Kaur: Why Canada’s $1-billion Saudi partnership is no longer a safe bet

CTV News describes Kaur as a partner at communications firm Henley Strategies[2] who led the crisis communications and issues management department at Saudi Aramco[2].Kaur writes that on Oct. 8, a Houthi missile destroyed a Saudia airliner on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing its pilot and two other Saudi citizens.[3] According to her column, two weeks later, Global Affairs Canada told Canadians to avoid the main airports in Riyadh and Dammam.[3]Kaur notes that in July, Carney signed more than $1 billion in deals in Jeddah on the bet that the kingdom was a safe place for Canadian money.[3] Carbon Credits reported at the time that the visit produced new government agreements on energy and AI, alongside 13 commercial deals involving Canadian and Saudi companies.[4]Kaur writes that the war began on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel struck Iran[3]. She also writes that Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq kept striking the kingdom.[3]The column cites economic damage, saying the IMF now expects the Saudi economy to shrink 3.3 per cent this year.[3] Kaur argues that Vision 2030 rests on the claim that Saudi Arabia is a safe place to put money. Every strike on an airport tests it.[3]Kaur also writes that none of this makes Riyadh a blameless bystander.[3] She says the region is watching to see which Saudi Arabia comes out of this war: the broker or the combatant.[3]