Thai PM Prayuth in historic visit to Saudi Arabia after diplomatic relations cut for three decades

[webfact]

Sanook caption: Historical picture

 

Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha and a large entourage of fellow ministers and spokesmen flew out of Don Muang Air Force Wing 6 yesterday on an A 340 to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 

Prayuth was pictured sitting talking to an official in what Sanook said was a historic picture.

 

Picture: Sanook

 

Diplomatic relations between the two kingdoms have been largely cut for 32 years over the Blue Diamond affair.

 

It was believed that Prayuth was due to meet with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

 

The de facto Saudi leader has been making waves in recent years about opening up the kingdom. 

 

Picture: Sanook

 

Sanook reported that there were six years of negotiations behind the visit.

 

Don Pramudwinai, Thai DPM and minister  of foreign affairs, who was also on the trip, said it was time to move on and relations would now proceed along established diplomatic lines. 

 

The entourage were not staying long, they were due back in Thailand today. 

 

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[JoePai]

Lumbering old relic, expensive the run – am talk of the A340 of course….. ????

[webfact]

Thailand, Saudi Arabia agree to restore diplomatic ties

 

(L) Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (R) Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

 

Thailand and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume normal diplomatic ties and are ready to begin a new era of bilateral relations, thanks to the joint efforts of Thai and Saudi officials in recent years, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in a statement released in Riyadh after his meeting with Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud yesterday (Tuesday).

 

Gen. Prayut’s official visit to Saudi Arabia is the highest-level meeting between the two countries in more than 30 years.

 

Diplomatic ties were strain and downgraded following a jewellery theft in Saudi Arabia and the assassinations of Saudi diplomats in Thailand. About $20 million of jewels were stolen by a Thai janitor working in the palace of a Saudi prince in 1989. A year after the theft, three Saudi diplomats seeking the valuables’ return were shot dead in Bangkok. No one was convicted for the killings. Many of the jewels sent back to Riyadh were fake. The priceless 50-carat blue diamond was never recovered.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailand-saudi-arabia-agree-to-restore-diplomatic-ties/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-01-26

 

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[Misterwhisper]

Hopefully the Saudis are going to keep him as compensation for the vanished Blue Diamond.

[Enoon]

17 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

Hopefully the Saudis are going to keep him as compensation for the vanished Blue Diamond.

I believe the word is "hostage".

 

That would be interesting.

 

 

[arithai12]

26 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

Hopefully the Saudis are going to keep him as compensation for the vanished Blue Diamond.

Usually compensation implies of similar value...

[edwinchester]

I wonder if the Blue Diamond will resurface sometime soon after all these years and be ceremoniously handed back to the Saudis?

[Misterwhisper]

9 minutes ago, arithai12 said:

Usually compensation implies of similar value...

Well... his wife always insisted he were a "gem".

[Sydebolle]

What was that saying with kettle and pot and black colour something? 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Prayuth was pictured sitting talking to an official in what Sanook said was a historic picture.

If looks could kill... that's quite a stare.

[Purdey]

I would be surprised if the Saudis now accept assassination of their colleagues as forgotten, let alone the jewelry. Let's see if there are more details of the agreement to be revealed.

[KannikaP]

6 hours ago, JoePai said:

Lumbering old relic, expensive the run – am talk of the A340 of course….. ????

Yep, seven hours there, seven hours back, a few hours kip,

Oh, and an hour's meeting.

[Srikcir]

Will Prayut be invited to visit their bone saw collection?

[kimamey]

7 hours ago, JoePai said:

Lumbering old relic, expensive the run – am talk of the A340 of course….. ????

Of course you are

I wonder why they used that. I would have thought there were many better options and I thought the A340s would have been mothballed.

[dutchweller]

I can just see the Saudis 

"QUICK QUICK they are coming Hide all the valuables"...

 

[edwinchester]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

If looks could kill... that's quite a stare.

Thinking of  doing a Jamal Khashoggi?

[TheScience]

If I were Saudi I could never forgive. Not so much the initial theft but what happened in the aftermath.

 

Anyone that really knows Thailand will not be surprised by what followed in the least. In fact, typical.

[Artisi]

7 hours ago, Enoon said:

I believe the word is "hostage".

 

That would be interesting.

 

 

His singing would get his instant release..... 

[NoshowJones]

23 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

Hopefully the Saudis are going to keep him as compensation for the vanished Blue Diamond.

They may as well keep him, he is not wanted by the vast majority of people in Thailand.

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, hotchilli said:

If looks could kill... that's quite a stare.

Can the Saudi people speak Thai? How are they able to communicate? If the Saudi's could just keep him there, they would be doing us all a favour here in Thailand.

[NoshowJones]

16 hours ago, Artisi said:

His singing would get his instant release..... 

Yes, he would make even Peltin Elton sound like Elvis. ????