Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha at the first high-level meeting between the two countries amid heightened tensions in the two countries over the jewelery theft case.
The official Saudi “SPA” said on Tuesday that Salman had received the death of Chan-o-sa in a state court at the Al-Yamamah Palace, where he was given an official welcome by the Thai Prime Minister.
After that, Salman and San-O-Chao held a “formal discussion session in which views, suggestions and coordination were exchanged on a number of issues to achieve the common interests of the two allies.”
The official visit is seen as a step towards resolving the lingering tensions between the two countries over the so-called “Blue Diamond affair” since 1989.
A Thai aide has been charged with stealing 90 kilograms of $ 50 million worth of jewelery, including 50 carat blue diamonds, from the palace of Prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Riyadh. Thailand.
The kingdom has stopped issuing and renewing visas for hundreds of thousands of Thai workers, suspended the permits for thousands of Thai Muslims in hopes of making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and warned its citizens against traveling to Thailand.
read more
Thai police have returned some of the jewelery, but Saudi officials said most were counterfeit. And the most expensive piece, the rarest 50-carat blue diamond, has yet to be discovered.
Saudi Arabia has long accused Thai police of neglecting investigations into the theft of gems, insisting they were seized by top officials.
In 1990, Riyadh sent a businessman to investigate the case, but he disappeared a few days after 3 Saudi ambassadors were shot dead in Bangkok.
Five people, including a top Thai police officer, have been charged in connection with the murder of a Saudi businessman, but the charges against them were dropped in 2014 due to lack of evidence.
Saudi Arabia has not sent an ambassador to Thailand for decades and has imposed travel restrictions between the two countries.
The jewelry thief who sold the bulk precious stones was jailed for 5 years before being arrested. In 2016, he became a monk.
The Thai media has been abuzz with reports that the wives of high-ranking officials have been adorned with strange diamond necklaces similar to stolen jewelery, and the legendary blue diamond has yet to be recovered.
Source: Agencies
“Creator. Award-winning problem solver. Music evangelist. Incurable introvert.”
