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Thailand
This Week in AsiaPolitics

‘So much opportunity’: businesses cheer as Thai-Saudi ties move past ‘Blue Diamond Affair’

  • More Thai-Saudi business fairs have been staged since PM Prayuth visited Riyadh in January, putting an end to a 33-year diplomatic feud over a jewel theft
  • Improved ties are set to benefit sectors such as agriculture, tourism and construction

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Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai (4th from right) at the Thai-Saudi Business Forum in Bangkok in July 2022. Photo: Marut Mekloy
Jitsiree Thongnoi

When tour operator Bashed Wangsoh, 67, agreed to serve as a facilitator and translator for a Thai-Saudi business matching event in Bangkok, he did not expect to leave with a multi-million baht deal to open a Thai buffet restaurant in Mecca.

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“I have been wanting to serve food for Asian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for a long time but never had the chance. I saw that many of them were looking to have Thai food while there,” said Bashed. “A man from Riyadh introduced me to the opportunity. He was asking around for someone to take over a dining business that went down due to Covid and so I jumped in.”
The matching event, hosted by Thailand’s Chamber of Commerce, is one of many Thai-Saudi business events that have arisen after Thailand and Saudi Arabia normalised ties with the visit of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to Riyadh in January.

The visit also marked the first high-level talks between the two nations in decades, more than 30 years after a diplomatic row over a US$20 million jewel theft soured relations.

The “Blue Diamond Affair”, as it became known, began with Thai cleaner Kriangkrai Techamong, who in 1989 stole precious gems from the palace of his employer, Prince Faisal bin Fahd – the eldest son of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh downgraded diplomatic relations with Bangkok following the incident and the spate of murders, abductions and disappearances that followed were said to have been caused by a curse, especially with the disappearance of businessman Mohammad al-Ruwili in 1990. Al-Ruwaili had ties to the Al-Saud royal family and was assigned to investigate the stolen gems.
Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha’s visit to Riyadh in January marked the first high-level talks between the two nations in decades. Photo: AP
Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha’s visit to Riyadh in January marked the first high-level talks between the two nations in decades. Photo: AP

Riyadh has since issued travel restrictions on citizens and Thai workers in Saudi Arabia. But such Prayuth’s visit in January signalled a thawing of relations and easing of restrictions, and paved the way for business opportunities.

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