Saudi Arabia, Thailand sign 5 agreements

Bangkok, The Gulf Observer: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman held key talks with Thailand Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

The both leaders witnessed on Friday the signing of five deals between the two countries including the establishing of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council.

At the outset of the meeting, Crown Prince wrote a word in the visitor log, then family photos were taken on this occasion.Then, Crown Prince and the Thai Prime Minister discussed aspects of bilateral relations, and ways to develop and enhance them, in addition to exchanging cordial conversations on a number of issues of common interest.

The Crown Prince said that the deals signed today will benefit the economy of the two Kingdoms.“Since our first meeting with you Saudi Arabia nine months ago, it was agreed to cooperate in many sectors, and many of them were accomplished in a way that exceeds our expectations,” Crown Prince said during the talks.

He added: “This confirms that the opportunities between our two countries are greater than what we aspired to.”He pointed that today we’re working to cooperate in several areas in energy, tourism, investment, infrastructure, agriculture and other fields from which our two countries will benefit.

Prince Mohammed said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the first Arab country to establish a relationship with Thailand in the fifties of last century, and now we look forward to moving to another stage in the relationship between the two countries.”

For his part, the Thai Prime Minister welcomed Crown Prince and the delegation accompanying him. He expressed his sincere thanks for accepting the visit and participating in the informal dialogue of the leaders of the member states of the Summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.

He also extended his greetings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz. He stressed his readiness to work with Crown Prince to support and strengthen bilateral relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

Later, Crown Prince and the Thai Prime Minister witnessed the exchange of a number of memorandums of understanding between the two governments.

The first memorandum of understanding was between the Ministry of Energy in Saudi Arabia and the Thai Ministry of Energy in the field of energy. The MoU was exchanged by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, and Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Supata Pong Ban Misha.

The second is a memorandum of understanding to form the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council, which was exchanged by Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Don Pramudwinai.

The third is a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of tourism between the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in the Kingdom of Thailand, which was exchanged by the Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Media, Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, and the Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

Fourth is a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of encouraging direct investment between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Kingdom of Thailand, which was exchanged by the Minister of Investment, Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, and the Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Don Pramudwinai.

Finally is a memorandum of understanding between the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority “Nazaha” in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the National Anti-Corruption Authority in the Kingdom of Thailand in the field of preventing and combating corruption, which was exchanged by Nazaha President, Mazen Al-Kahmous, and the Thai President of the National Anti-Corruption Authority, Watcharapole Prasar Narajkit.