Saudi restores full ties with Thailand after diamond dispute

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ordered the restoration of full diplomatic ties with Thailand and said the countries agreed to trade ambassadors, closing the chapter on three decades of mistrust and hostility between the nations that stemmed from a sensational jewelry heist.

The rapprochement came during Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's official visit to the kingdom, which marked the highest-level meeting between the countries since relations soured over the 1989 political scandal. Saudi Arabia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Thailand over the theft that led to a string of mysterious killings and became known as the Blue Diamond affair.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto leader, agreed to bury the hatchet with Prayuth and boost the nations' economic, security and political ties, said a statement published on the official Saudi Press Agency, SPA, late Tuesday after talks at the royal palace.

The countries will explore joint investment in fields ranging from energy and petrochemicals to tourism and hospitality, the statement added. Tourism is a key element of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's economic reform plan meant to wean the kingdom off oil.

Saudi Arabian Airlines, meanwhile, said it would start direct flights from Riyadh to Bangkok in May, promoting Thailand in a Twitter post as “the land of culture.”

Prince Mohammed has ventured into diplomatic territory where previously the government refused to go. In 1989, priceless 50-carat blue diamond was among an estimated $20 million worth of gems and jewelry pilfered by a Thai janitor from a Saudi prince’s palace in the heist that wrecked relations between the countries.

The kingdom stopped issuing and renewing visas for hundreds of thousands of Thai...