Still no resolution to the Thai-Saudi diplomatic spat

Nabil Ashri has been optimistic and frustrated at the same time. As the head of mission at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia ends his term here after more than six years, the troubled relations between his country and Thailand remain very much in the same condition as when he first arrived. The two nations have been talking more, of course, but they still can’t see eye to eye.

Twenty-one years have passed and 17 Thai governments come and gone since criminal cases first rocked diplomatic relations between our countries. It has been a tiresome saga of Saudi hope, Thai nonchalance and then stalled progress in the efforts to re-boost bilateral ties. Nabil, regarded as the friendliest and most positive Saudi envoy to Thailand in modern times, is ending his term here knowing that, if he’s been more optimistic than his predecessors, there were good reasons all the same that they were such pessimists.

His six and a half years as head of mission saw hopes rise and then dim. With every new Thai government there was a new foreign minister and a new political crisis, or a variant on one. In 2006 we had the coup that overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra. In 2007 and 2008 the yellow shirts rallied. In 2009 and 2010 it was the red shirts’ turn. Last year, when the political violence and turmoil eased, we suffered a flood disaster of unprecedented scale hit.

The envoy has been practically chasing shadows in his bid to solve the key issues that are delaying normalisation of bilateral ties. He’s undergone emotional swings, albeit in professional fashion. He was quite hopeful with the Abhisit government, but then the red-shirt uprising put all non-domestic matters on hold. There were again glimmers of hope when the Pheu Thai Party won the election last year, but no sooner was it installed in government than the floods arrived on centre stage. That disaster has now been replaced by renewed political tension over proposals for political amnesty and charter amendment. 

Still-missing Saudi jewellery and the unsolved murders of Saudi officials and a high-profile businessman have blocked normalisation of diplomatic ties. Nabil had expected significant progress in the criminal investigations, especially over the past three years, but he is leaving Thailand obviously disturbed and disappointed. In one of his last media interviews, the envoy complained that there were times he could not even meet with Thai officials because they were preoccupied by domestic political issues. It was an unpleasant experience for a diplomat who obviously loves Thailand, its people and its food.

Just when Thailand will have a government that can concentrate better on external issues is anyone’s guess. The current showdown over charter amendment and the planned amnesty for Thaksin Shinawatra has taken up everyone’s time – be it on the government side or among the opposition. Diplomatic issues that have attracted attention are mostly related to the Thai political turmoil – the Cambodian border controversy, foreign lese majeste convictions, Thaksin’s visas to other countries, and so on. The Thai-Saudi problem has been left in limbo because it doesn’t benefit or hinder any party in the Thai political conflict.

But bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia are in fact very important, both domestically and diplomatically. Saudi Arabia obviously realises this, given the efforts by the departing envoy and other signals such as Saudi investments here. If Thailand also realises the importance of the ties, our governments have not demonstrated it. 

Thai workers want to return to Saudi Arabia, and Nabil has said the Middle Eastern country would very much like to have them back. He said Thai workers are regarded there as among the world’s best, and that normalisation of ties would bring them back in the blink of an eye. As of now, that will have to wait, and even a man as optimistic as Nabil dares not predict when the good old days will return.