Thai Prime Minister Visits Saudi Arabia While Thawing Diplomatic Relations News

The first high-level visit since relations broke down after a Thai $ 20 million-dollar jewelry was stolen from a Saudi prince in 1989.

The Prime Minister of Thailand will visit Saudi Arabia next week, at the first summit between the two countries almost 30 years ago.

Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic relations with Bangkok have collapsed in 1989 after a Thai porter working at a Saudi prince’s palace stole about $ 20 million worth of jewelry. The robbery sparked an unresolved “Blue Diamond Affair” between countries.

Later, Thai police returned some jewelry, but Saudi officials said most of it was fake, and the whereabouts of the most precious gem – a rare 50-carat blue diamond – remain unknown.

Thai Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has issued an invitation to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha for a two-day visit on Tuesday, the Thai government said in a statement.

“This is the first visit in two years by a caretaker government in more than 30 years,” the statement said.

Prayut MBS will join forces to “strengthen and promote bilateral relations,” he added.

A statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the visit was “among the consultations that have led to a rapprochement on issues of common interest.”

He said that the visit is coordinated in these matters, without going into depth.

Saudi Arabia has long accused Thai police of cracking down on the investigation into the robbery, alleging that the stolen gems were broken by senior agents.

The Blue Diamond Affair remains one of Thailand’s biggest unsolved mysteries and was followed by a bloody trail of destruction involving some of Thailand’s top police generals.

One year after the robbery, three Saudi diplomats were killed in Thailand in a single night in three killings.

Riyadh sent a Saudi businessman, Mohammad al-Ruwaili, to investigate, but he disappeared in Bangkok a month later.

In 2014, for lack of evidence, a lawsuit was filed against five men, including a senior Thai police officer, accused of involvement in the assassination of al-Ruwaili.

Saudi Arabia has not sent an ambassador to Thailand for decades and restricts travel between countries.

Thailand has been eager to normalize relations with the oil-rich kingdom after costing billions of dollars in two-way trade and tourism revenue and job losses for thousands of migrant workers in Thailand.

Kriangkrai was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing jewelry and selling most of his gems before being arrested. Then in 2016 he became a monk.

He said he had resorted to religion to escape bad karma.