National –
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O’Cha is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia early this week as a guest of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the Government House announced on Sunday, January 23rd.
This marks the first visit in more than 30 years which aimed to tighten bilateral relations between the two countries, added the announcement.
The visit hiatus followed the theft of around 20 million USD in gems as well as one of the world’s most precious gems called the ‘blue diamond’ by a Thai janitor working in the Saudi prince’s palace in 1989.
The blue diamond was never discovered and the case was internationally recognized as the “Blue Diamond Affair.” This led to decades of restrictions on travel and lack of official diplomatic relationships as the investigation into the case dragged on and was criticized by Saudi Arabia officials.
The Thai government has been working for several years to build closer relationships with the Saudi Arabia government and the surprise visit is expected to go a long ways towards this goal.
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