Saudi Crown Prince's planned visit to Thailand: Strengthening relations after dispute over stolen ‘blue diamond’

Saudi Arabia and Thailand will sign agreements to raise the level of diplomatic and investment relations during an upcoming visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Southeast Asian country, the timing of which has not yet been determined by the Kingdom.

This is the first visit by senior royals to Thailand in more than three decades, according to Bloomberg.

Thai Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said on Tuesday that the agreements will be held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, which the Saudi crown prince will attend as a special guest, the Bangkok Post reported.

The agreements will set out plans for strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries until 2024, including finding a suitable site for the construction of a Saudi embassy in Bangkok.

Dhnadirek stated that the two countries will also form a bilateral cooperation council and seek to encourage direct investments.

After the Thai cabinet approved the draft agreements, Dhnadirek said on Tuesday that the treaties would “strengthen relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia with the aim of becoming each other's regional ally.”

Bin Salman's visit follows Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's visit to Riyadh in January 2022, the first by a Thai leader since they cut ties over a jewelry theft in 1989, which included a blue diamond and the subsequent killing of three Saudi diplomats, according to Reuters and AP.

During Prayut's visit, the two countries agreed to soon appoint ambassadors and work on bilateral cooperation.

For its part, Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed the planned visit of the crown prince, according to Bloomberg.

Earlier this week, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih and representatives from the private sector attended an investment forum in Bangkok that included 60 Saudi companies and 150 Thai companies.

Thai Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sanan Angubolkul said in a statement Monday that Saudi Arabia is interested in investing in Thailand's healthcare sector and is studying the country as a crude oil storage hub in Southeast and East Asia.

Bloomberg reported that Siam Piwat, a Thai developer, is keen to invest in The Line, the huge project in Saudi Arabia that is part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 project to reduce dependence on oil.

Origin of dispute

Diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand began in 1957 and broke off in 1989. Despite that, the rupture was not complete in the last three decades, as Professor of International Relations at the British University in Egypt Salim Kamel told Jusoor Post.

The dispute between Saudi Arabia and Thailand dates back to 1989, after a worker of Thai nationality, Kriangkrai Techamong, was accused of stealing a collection of precious stones and jewels, including a rare piece called the “blue diamond”, from inside the palace of Prince Faisal bin Fahd, the first son of late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, who was sitting on the throne at that time.

The 50-carat blue diamond was among an estimated $20 million worth of gems and jewelry in the theft that devastated relations between the two countries, according to AP.

Following the theft, three Saudi diplomats in Thailand were assassinated in 1990, while a Saudi businessman who had witnessed the killings of the diplomats charged with following up on the jewelry theft case was also killed, according to Reuters.

Relations between Riyadh and Bangkok were strained after the series of incidents that occurred between 1989 and 1990, as Saudi Arabia believed that the Thai authorities were complicit in covering up some high-ranking officers involved in sharing jewelry with the worker.

No one has been convicted of the murders of the Saudi diplomats, according to the AP.

The Gulf kingdom also prevented its citizens from traveling to the Southeast Asian country as a result of the severe diplomatic crisis that erupted over the theft case and the killings that followed.