Diplomatic relations with Thailand, which were suspended for stealing jewelry from a Saudi palace, were restored three decades later.
According to the International News Agency, Thai Prime Minister General Bravo Chen Chen Ocha arrived in Riyadh on an official visit, where he was met by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest and in particular the need to end the decades-long suspension of diplomatic relations.
The Thai prime minister also expressed regret over the 1979 incident, after which relations between the two countries were severed.
A statement issued after the meeting said that Saudi Arabia and Thailand had agreed to restore diplomatic relations, which had been suspended for 30 years, and that the two countries would soon appoint their own ambassadors.
Following the announcement, Saudi Arabian Airlines also announced the resumption of its flights to Thailand. Soon there will be a full-fledged air operation between the two countries, which was very limited till now.
In 1979, a young Thai man working at Prince Faisal bin Fahd's palace gained access to the prince's bedroom and fled his home, stealing jewelry worth 20 20 million, including blue diamonds.
The Thai youth sold the jewelry weighing 90 kg one by one which a goldsmith bought from him knowing that it was jewelry stolen from a Saudi palace.
The Royal Thai Army set up an inquiry committee, which arrested the thief and the goldsmith, recovered more than half of the jewelry, and returned to Saudi Arabia.
When Saudi Arabia saw the jewelry, it did not contain four blue diamonds, while the returned jewelry also contained fake gold. Later, the wives of several Thai ministers were seen wearing Saudi diamonds and jewelry.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Thailand after a flawed inquiry revealed that the stolen jewelry belonged to the ministers' wives.
According to sources, the meeting between the Saudi Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of Thailand has resolved the mistrust and suspension of relations between the two countries through talks and a new chapter of relations has begun by forgetting the past.
