After 32 years of strained relations, Thailand and Saudi Arabia agreed in January this year to fully restore diplomatic relations, opening a new chapter in their relations and creating opportunities for bilateral cooperation and development between the two kingdoms.
The historic breakthrough was reached during an official visit of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha to Riyadh on Jan 25 this year, at the invitation of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is also Saudi Arabia's deputy prime minister and minister of defence. Gen Prayut's visit represented the first leader-level talks between the two governments in more than 30 years.
Gen Prayut's visit was hailed as a tremendous success, as it marked the end of three decades of frosty relations and the beginning of cooperation for mutual benefit between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia downgraded diplomatic ties with Thailand and adopted a number of measures following the murder of Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of a Saudi businessman in Bangkok following the theft of gems belonging to the Saudi state in 1989.
These included replacing the head of its diplomatic mission with a charge d'affaires, prohibiting Saudi Arabian nationals from travelling to Thailand, and stopping Thai workers from being employed in the Middle Eastern nation.
These measures consequently hit travel between Thailand and Saudi Arabia and bilateral cooperation on labour, trade and investment.
There have been a number of attempts to repair relations between the countries over the years.
Following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, these negative measures are expected to be lifted so that both nations can once again benefit from renewed cooperation.
The Thai government expects the restoration of diplomatic relations to benefit nine key areas, namely: tourism, energy, labour, food, healthcare, security, education and religion, trade and investment, and sports.
Tourism will promote more contact between the two nations and is expected to generate at least 5 billion baht in income for Thailand.
Meanwhile, a study by the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) under the Commerce Ministry revealed that after the two countries recently agreed to restore full diplomatic relations for the first time in over three decades, bilateral trade between Thailand and Saudi Arabia is forecast to surge by 20% this year.
Saudi Arabia is Thailand's second-largest market in the Middle East after Turkey.
The TPSO study forecasts that bilateral trade between Thailand and Saudi Arabia would reach 280 billion baht in 2022, up by 20.3% from a year before. Of the total, exports are expected to represent 54.6 billion baht, up by 6.2%, with imports valued at 226 billion baht, up by 24.3%.
Key export products which have high growth potential include automobiles and components, rubber products, gems and jewellery, machinery and mechanical components, canned and processed seafood, chilled and frozen fresh fruit and dried fruits.
Imports comprise crude oil, chemicals, refined oil, metal ores and scrap products, mineral products, appliances, home furnishings, and automotive components and equipment.
In 2021, trade between the two countries reached about 241 billion baht ($7.3 billion). Of the total, exports accounted for 53.8 billion baht, while imports accounted for 187 billion baht.
