Saga of the Blue Diamond Affair
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits Saudi Arabia on January 25-26 as the guest of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
This is the first leader-level talks between the two governments in more than 30 years and the aim of the meeting was to foster bilateral relations.
Saudi Arabia minimised diplomatic ties, banned Thai workers and advised its citizens to avoid visiting Thailand after a Thai janitor stole US$20 million worth of jewels from the House of Saud in 1989. This triggered a long-standing row that became known as the “Blue Diamond Affair”.
The theft became one of Thailand’s biggest unsolved mysteries with many police top brass implicated.
One year after the theft, three Saudi diplomats were killed in Bangkok in three separate incidents in one night. One Saudi businessman is also reported missing.
Here’s what happened:
