Thailand and Saudi hail rapid escalation of ties, set agenda for 2023
Thailand and Saudi Arabia on Monday set their cooperation agenda for the year ahead and hailed rapid progress in their newly restored bilateral relations, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry.
Saudi Ambassador Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Alsuhaibani paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to discuss relations, including ways to strengthen political links through the first Saudi-Thai Coordination Council Meeting, said the Foreign Ministry.
Both sides also discussed cooperation in regional and multilateral frameworks such as the Asean-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), and exchanged views on regional and international issues.
The ambassador then met with Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Sarun Charoensuwan, where both sides expressed satisfaction with the fast progress of bilateral relations since the normalisation of ties.
A relationship that had been frozen for three decades after the theft of jewels by a Thai janitor from a Saudi palace thawed last year with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Riyadh in January followed by his Saudi counterpart Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trip to Bangkok in November.
The Foreign Ministry statement said both sides also discussed the working plan for this year, including following up on talks between the two prime ministers, and signed memorandums of understanding and agreements. They also discussed arrangements for the first Saudi-Thai Coordination Council Meeting, trade and investment, visa facilitation, Haj and Umrah pilgrimages, sports (especially e-sports and Muay Thai), religion, education, culture, as well as cooperation in regional and multilateral frameworks, it added.
