Saudi Arabia–Thailand relations
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Saudi Arabia–Thailand relations ( ar, العلاقات السعودية التايلاندية, ) refers to the current and historical relations between
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
and Thailand has an embassy in
Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
but representation is at the
chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
rather than
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
ial level. However Saudi Arabia and Thailand aim to restore the relations between their two nations. Relations between the two countries were established in 1957 and hundreds of thousands of Thais went to Saudi Arabia to work.Saudi Arabia had strong ground relations already as both nations were monarchies and fighting common enemies such as communism and terrorism, both Saudi Arabia and Thailand were part of U.S president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's
War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
br>"Time running out for thai-saudi relations".
''(sic)''en severely strained Editorial. ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
The historically friendly and strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and Thailand has deteriorated significantly following the
Blue Diamond Affair The Blue Diamond Affair is a series of unresolved crimes and embittered diplomatic relations triggered by the 1989 theft of gems belonging to the House of Saud by a Thai employee. The affair has soured relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand fo ...
. Although regardless of relation status, Saudi Arabia and Thailand have high trade between two nations (see § Economic Relations). In recent years Saudi Arabia and Thailand have shown intent to repair the relations between the two kingdoms. On January 26, 2022, both countries announced they restored full diplomatic relations and would appoint ambassadors.


History

The Kingdom of Thailand and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have long and historic relations. The two Kingdoms have enjoyed warm and cordial relationships even before the establishment of formal diplomatic ties on 1 October 1957 with resident representative in their respective capitals. In 1966 the status of their relation was upgraded to ambassador level, the first Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Thailand was H.E. Abdulrahman Al-Omran while H.E. Prasong Suwanpradhes was the first Thai Ambassador accredited to Saudi Arabia. Relations between the two Kingdoms have been further strengthened by the visit to Saudi Arabia in January 1984 of the Thai delegation led by Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Prapas Limpabhandhu and high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, as well as representatives from the Thai Parliament and the private sector. According to Thai author Achara Ashayagachat: ″Before the downgrade and sanctions, up to 500,000 Thais worked in Saudi Arabia. Now perhaps just 100 are there. Thousands of students once studied in Saudi Arabia, but now only 300 do.″ According to the Royal Thai Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: ″Thailand and Saudi Arabia always share similar views on major regional and international issues, especially those of vital importance to international peace and security. Both countries are working closely and supported each other's position in the United Nations and at other international fora.″


A Chronology of key events of Thai - Saudi Diplomatic Ties


Economic Relations

In 2004, Saudi Arabia was 24th major market for Thai exports and 3 rd major market of Thailand in Middle East. Thailand ranked 20th among major traders with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is Thailand's major supplier of crude oil. Thailand's trade with Saudi Arabia reached 2.9 Billion USD in 2004. In 2005 two-way trade rose to 5 Billion USD. Thailand imported from Saudi Arabia to the value of 4 Billion USD, and exported to the value of 1 Billion USD. Thailand imported mainly crude oil, petrochemical products and fertilizer while exporting to Saudi Arabia motor cars auto part and accessories, air conditioning machine, refrigerators, prepared or preserved fish, woven fabrics, washing machines, machinery, garments, rice etc.


Thai labour in Saudi Arabia

Pre-Gulf War (1990) Saudi Arabia was the largest market for Thai oversea workers with its number over 200,000. . At present, according to the statistic provided by Ministry of foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, 10,000 Thais remain in the Kingdom.


Hajj and Islamic Affairs

Thailand, with its nearly 3 million Muslim population ascribes considerable importance to events in the two holy cities. The historical links between Thailand and Saudi Arabia could be traced back to the early days of the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The number of Thai pilgrims performing the fifth pillar of Islam each year number approximately between 9,000 to 10,000. In 2005, the number of Thai Pilgrims performing religious rituals in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah reached 10,124.


Blue Diamond Affair fallout

The Blue Diamond Affair was a series of events triggered by the 1989 theft of gems belonging to the
Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and ...
by a Thai employee. Mohammad al-Ruwaili, a Saudi Arabian businessman close to the Saudi royal family traveled to Bangkok to investigate the case, but was abducted and killed. Three months later, three officials from the Saudi Embassy were also shot to death in Bangkok. The murders remained unsolved . The affair soured relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand. In response Saudi Arabia stopped issuing working visas for Thais and discouraged its citizens from visiting the country.. Although there is a ban on travel, many Saudis violate it and travel to the
Kingdom of Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
, Elias Siyaman, a tourist company representative, said there is clear growth in the number of Saudi tourists, who come in fourth place among Gulf tourists. They travel via the closest airports to Bangkok. A large percentage of Saudi nationals come for tourism, and 70 percent are single. Diplomatic missions were downgraded to
chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
level. The number of Thai workers in Saudi Arabia fell from more than 200,000 in before the theft to around 10,000 in 2008. According to Arab News: The fifth charge d'affaires since the 1990 diplomatic downgrade said many Thais and Saudis want to see warmer ties. "My mission is to communicate and see to the final resolution of this court case. The ball is in the Thai court now and Saudi Arabia is ready to celebrate together," he said as Riyadh awaits the verdict from the Court of Appeal, following last year's ruling by the Court of First Instance. The Ruwaili family petitioned the King and appealed to the Appeal Court. "We will proceed through to the end he highest court "I'm amazed and am wondering why Thai authorities can find culprits for he murders ofBritish nationals but not for us," he said, adding the Ruwaili case was the only remaining chance for justice. "Whether we can restore good ties between us relies solely on this case." I believe the Thai government has good intentions to normalise relations. But the restoration will have to be done without the rights of our citizens being infringed upon," Mr Alsheaiby said. Several businesses are keen to invest in Thailand, but they have been prohibited because of economic sanctions, he said. The Saudi low-cost airline, Flynas, is keen to launch a route between Jeddah and Bangkok to tap the market for tourists and Haj-Umrah pilgrims. Currently, most flights between Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asia are via the Philippines and Indonesia as they supply workers to the Saudis. "Once relations are restored the Saudi private sector would like to hire Thais rather than other nationals," Mr Alsheaiby said. Traveling to Thailand from Saudi Arabia requires an official business visit by the government. Personal business visits have to be authorized by the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
. Tourism is not permitted to Thailand and violating the law by traveling to Thailand is taken seriously. Violators may be subject to investigation leading to a fine or a jail sentence. The number of Thai Muslim pilgrims permitted to perform the hajj pilgrimage has been strictly limited. By 2009 there were signs of a thawing of relations.
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
columnist Frank G. Anderson argues that "one theory is the Gulf rivalry between Iran and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, wherein the Saudi kingdom finds Iran's growing influence in Thailand a disadvantage to its relations with Thailand".Frank G. Anderson
"Thailand revisits Saudi murder cases."
''Thai Traditions'' column from UPI Asia. 30 January 2009. Archived fro
the original
on 5 January 2012.


Rahaf Mohammed

Rahaf Mohammed Rahaf Mohammed (formerly Rahaf Mohammed Mutlaq al-Qunun Al-Shammari; ar, رهف محمد مطلق القنون الشمري) is a Saudi refugee and author who was detained by Thai authorities on 5 January 2019 while transiting through Bangkok a ...
also known as Rahaf Qunoon, is a Saudi Arabian lady who ran away to Thailand to escape the harsh rules there. Thailand police and Saudi Arabian embassy officials tried to put her on a plane back to Saudi but it was too late; other countries had offered her a refugee visa.


See also

*
Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia are the diplomatic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world. The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is focused on co-operation with the oil-exporting Gulf States, the unity o ...
*
Foreign relations of Thailand The foreign relations of Thailand are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. Thailand participates fully in international and regional organizations. It has developed close ties with other ASEAN members—Indonesia, Malaysia, ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi Arabia-Thailand relations
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
Bilateral relations of Thailand