The deeply established diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Thailand go back to October 1957, when the two kingdoms enjoyed fruitful relations since that period, and visits of officials and delegations between the two kingdoms contributed to strengthening and consolidating relations. In March 1966, the Kingdom raised the level of diplomatic representation in Thailand from a consulate to an embassy, and in January 1984, Thailand opened its embassy in Riyadh while keeping its consulate in Jeddah. Relations between the two countries developed and continued in all political, economic, trade and tourism fields until 1990. In January 2022, a new page began in the relations between the two countries, following an invitation from His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister to the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Thailand, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, to visit the Kingdom, where it contributed to the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries in all areas of joint cooperation, and the resumption of relations between them to normal in a way that serves the interests of the two kingdoms and their peoples. During the recent visit of the Thai Prime Minister, the Kingdom welcomed the resumption of relations between the two countries to normal, and the raising of the level of diplomatic representation between them from Chargé d'Affairs to the level of ambassador. The Saudi and Thai sides were keen to endorse a set of important steps that would strengthen bilateral relations, including: appointing ambassadors in the capitals of the two countries, and creating an advisory mechanism to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially intensifying communication to discuss cooperation in the main strategic areas. The Thai government attaches utmost importance to the ties of friendship with the Kingdom, and from this standpoint it has expressed its regret over the tragic incidents that occurred to Saudi citizens in Thailand between 1989 and 1990, and has also affirmed its keenness to make efforts to resolve issues related to those incidents, and to refer them to the competent authorities in the event that new evidence related to it appears. Strengthening relations between the two countries and moving them forward, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabis's cabinet approved the minutes of the agreement to establish the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council, in the context of the accelerated steps between the two countries to develop partnership and with the aim of activating bilateral cooperation in the main strategic areas. Along the mutual relations between the two countries, the two kingdoms witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding, including an agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on air services between and beyond its territories, (1984); an agreement to avoid double taxation, (1994); an agreement for mutual exemption from Taxes on the activities of air carriers in the two countries, (1994); an agreement on reciprocity and tax exemption on owning land to build the embassy, (2017); an agreement for the recruitment of domestic workers between the Ministry of Labor in the Kingdom of Thailand and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (2022). In the field of energy, Saudi Aramco has an agreement with the Thai company "PTT Public" to sell it 166,000 barrels per day of crude oil, and the company proposed to increase the quantities and duration, on the principle of delivery including cost and freight. SABIC also has a factory in Thailand that produces specialized materials such as (NORYL) product. The company's annual sales of petrochemical products and fertilizers in the Thai market are approximately (1.3) million tons. SABIC also has an office to manage its operations in Bangkok, the number of employees is 83 female employees. In the commercial field, the volume of the Kingdom's non-oil exports to Thailand in 2021 amounted to $723 million, while the Kingdom's oil exports in the same year to Thailand amounted to $4.107 million. About 2,242 skilled Thai workers work in the Saudi market. The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) provided two development loans to Thailand, to contribute to financing two projects in the electricity sector, with a total value of 173.39 million riyals. The Kingdom ranks 14th in the list of trading partners for Thailand's imports from the world with a value of $5.839 million, and the Kingdom ranks 29th in the list of trading partners for Thailand's exports to the world with a value of $1.613 million. The volume of trade between the Kingdom and Thailand in 2021 amounted to $7.166 million, and the trade balance recorded a surplus in favor of the Kingdom, as the Kingdom exported $4.831 million to Thailand, and imported $2.335 million from Thailand. The services sector in Thailand contributes 58.3% of the GDP and employs 45.7% of the workforce in Thailand. Tourism plays an important role in the Thai economy, followed by the industries sector with 33.6% of the GDP, then agriculture with 8.1%. The two countries seek cooperation in the field of agriculture through holding partnership meetings between the private sectors in the two countries to facilitate trade in basic crops, especially rice, in addition to the Kingdom's desire to export Saudi dates to the Thai markets, and to enhance cooperation with the Thai side in the field of fish farming and poultry products. The importance of the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister to the Kingdom of Thailand is that it is the first visit at the level of the Kingdom's leadership since the beginning of the crisis between the two countries three decades ago, and it reflects the desire of the two countries to enhance cooperation and strengthen relations between them and will support the efforts of the two countries to open a new chapter in the bilateral relations between them in all areas of joint cooperation, and to restore relations between them to normal in a way that serves the interests of the two kingdoms and their peoples. The visit of His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister to the Kingdom of Thailand coincides with the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is scheduled to be held in the Thai capital, Bangkok, on the 18th and 19th of next November, during which HRH Crown Prince will meet with with many of the world's most prominent leaders who will participate in the economic summit meetings. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to take advantage of the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region. The 21 members of APEC aim to achieve greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and safe growth. Accelerate regional economic integration. APCE operates as a multilateral cooperative economic and trade forum. The summit is held annually in one of the member states. This year's summit focuses on highlighting the challenges of inclusiveness and sustainability goals along with economic goals, stimulating tourism and facilitating business mobility, and benefiting from the strengths of traditional countries. By facilitating open trade and investment, as well as taking advantage of digitization and innovation. The importance of the participation of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister in the informal dialogue of the leaders of the member states of APEC forum, in that it is the first in history, and it comes at a sensitive stage globally in light of the political, economic and military crises the world is witnessing. HRH Crown Prince's invitation to participate in the informal dialogue of the leaders of the member states of APEC Forum reflects a global appreciation of the Kingdom's position and global leadership in recognition of its political and economic weight. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's economy is among the twenty largest global economies, which qualifies it to enter the G20 group, to be an active member of the group and one of the main players in the global economy, in addition to the Kingdom being the largest source of oil globally, and an influential element in the global oil markets, and the Kingdom's system of a strong financial and effective banking sector, and giant government companies based on highly qualified Saudi cadres, highlighting their importance to the global economy and the weight of their participation in any global economic forum. The decision to invite the Kingdom represents a positive step by the member states of the forum, in light of the forum's focus on the economic aspects of joint cooperation internationally, and the Kingdom leads the G20 countries in terms of growth rate during 2022, according to the World Economic Outlook report, issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October 202 as the fund confirmed its expectations for the growth of the Saudi economy during the year 2022 at 7.6%. The IMF also expected the growth of the Saudi economy for the year 2023 at a rate of 3.7%, according to the same report. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recorded the second best performance, advanced 8 ranks in the Global Competitiveness Yearbook Report 2022, and ranked 24th in the world and seventh at the level of the G20 countries. The Kingdom has always sought in its development plans through the Kingdom's Vision 2030 to improve the business environment, overcome obstacles to make it a more attractive environment, improve the investment environment and increase its attractiveness to local and foreign investors, which are among the most important aspects of the forum. Over the past years, the Kingdom has witnessed structural reforms on the economic and financial side, which enhances the raising of economic growth rates while maintaining stability and financial sustainability. This structural transformation towards sustainable economic growth in the coming years, especially in light of a number of giant investment initiatives, under the umbrella of the Public Investment Fund, and leading companies. It is also expected that the localization of knowledge and innovative technologies will accelerate. The Kingdom is located at the crossroads of international trade between three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, and seeks to take advantage of this distinguished geographical location and conclude new strategic partnerships to develop the economy and help Saudi companies increase their exports, and the Kingdom's openness to investments and business will enhance productivity and accelerate transformation so that the Kingdom becomes one of the largest economies of the world, and this will be achieved through improving the business environment, restructuring economic cities, establishing special zones, and liberalizing the energy market to improve its ability to compete. Sustainability, which is one of the most important themes of the forum for this year, is among the most important targets of the Saudi Vision 2030 since its launch, as the vision aims to improve the future of the Kingdom with a focus on sustainability as a main focus in planning, establishing infrastructure, developing policies and investment, and now the Kingdom is ushering in a new era by announcing its goal to reach neutrality Zero by 2060, and this announcement comes within the framework of the vision's broader ambitions to accelerate the energy transition process, achieve sustainability goals, and lead a new wave of investments in this field. Together, the "Saudi Green" and "Middle East Green" initiatives constitute an ambitious roadmap that not only leads the Kingdom, but also drives efforts in the region towards sustainability. These initiatives will reduce emissions, plant 50 billion trees, and protect nature on land and sea. For example, the Saudi Green Initiative would see the rehabilitation of 40 million hectares of degraded land, and increase the percentage of protected areas across the kingdom to more than 30% of the total land area, or 645,000 square kilometres, which is about the size of a large country. The Kingdom has a strong infrastructure in the fields of communications and transportation internationally and locally, as well as strong and specialized economic sectors such as: oil industries, water treatment, information and communication technology, health, education, financial sector, petroleum, agriculture, dates, and petrochemicals. The Kingdom is also an attractive market in various sectors given the huge government spending and its impact on all business sectors. The Kingdom has a leadership status in the global petroleum industry, and it has employed this position to achieve stability and balance in international markets. The Kingdom considers energy security and sustainability to be an issue of great importance, as the world is in constant need of energy in all its forms, from this standpoint, it has been keen to develop effective policies for energy markets that would have a balance between security and sustainability.
