Thai PM to visit Saudi Arabia

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha will pay an official visit to Saudi Arabia this week, the first by a Thai head of government since relations between the two nations were soured more than three decades ago by a massive jewel theft and the killing of four Saudi diplomats.

Prayuth’s two-day visit starting on Tuesday comes at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said statements from the prime minister’s office and the Saudi foreign ministry.

“The visit comes after consultations that resulted in convergence of views on many issues of common concern,” said the Saudi statement, issued Sunday. Thailand had been a major provider of labourers to Saudi Arabia before relations turned cold following the theft in 1989 of an estimated $20 million worth of gems and jewelry from a Saudi Arabian prince’s palace in Riyadh — later linked with the ‘Blue Diamond Affair’.