Thai-Saudi relations show signs of improving

NEW YORK, September 26 (TNA) - Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who is in New York this week for the 67th United Nations General Assembly, has held bilateral talks with Saudi Arabian Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the first official talks with a Saudi Arabian authority in two decades with improved bilateral ties between Bangkok and Riyadh expected subsequently. Surapong told TNA that the meeting was a positive development, acknowledging, however, that Saudi Arabia requested for more information about the mysterious death of Saudi Arabian diplomats in Thailand previously, believed to be linked with an unresolved case of lost jewelry of the Saudi Arabian royalty some 20 years ago. Surapong, who heads an official committee supervising special cases concerning Saudi Arabia, said he told the Saudi Arabian deputy foreign minister that his panel is ready to give more information on the cases. According to the Thai foreign minister, former director-general of Thailand's Department of Special Investigation or DSI Police Colonel Thawee Sodsong earlier visited Saudi Arabia to discuss the issues in detail. (TNA)