Source::AP
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and Thailand ended their three-decades-long hostility and mistrust by restoring full diplomatic ties between each other. Thirty years after the infamous bank heist that soured the relations between the two countries, the rapprochement came to pass during the Thai Prime Minister's official visit to the kingdom.
The relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia have been tenuous at best since the 1989 Blue Diamond Affair. In 1989, a heist conducted by a Thai janitor managed to steal a 50-carat blue diamond along with an estimated $20 million worth of gems and jewellery. While Thai police had concluded their case and sent back the diamonds, Saudi Arabia has claimed that the diamonds they sent were fake and the biggest prize, the fabled blue diamonds was never found.
Many conspiracy theories are floating around about uncanny resemblances of jewellery of high-level officials' wives and the missing gems. Moreover, three Saudi diplomats which travelled to Bangkok seeking pieces of jewellery had been shot and a businessman looking for the diamond had also disappeared from Bangkok. This left a very sour taste in Saudi Arabia.
In response, Saudi Arabia took action by stopping permits and renewing visas for Thai migrant workers working in Arabia. In addition, they suspended permits to Muslims hoping to visit Mecca and warned its citizens not to travel Thailand.
With the recent diplomatic breakthrough, it has been a win-win for both countries. With the souring of relations costing Thailand billions of dollars in lost tourism revenues and worker's remittances, Thailand has long wanted to patch relations with Saudi Arabia. And with tourism being one of the staple components in its Vision 2030 to be oil-independent, the government has opened direct flights from Riyadh to Bangkok as a way to promote tourism in both countries.
Photo Courtesy: [www.kremlin.ru]
