Thailand intends to have a free trade agreement with member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to promote trade and investment, says government spokesman Chai Wacharonke.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wrapped up his trip to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. He boarded a flight from Beijing to Riyadh on Oct 19.
One of his missions during the Saudi trip was to attend the Asean-GCC Riyadh Summit on Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton in the capital. After that, Mr Srettha visited Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud for a bilateral discussion.
Both leaders expressed their intent to strengthen the Thai-Sudi relationship, especially in terms of trading and investment.
During the meeting, Mr Srettha expressed gratitude to Crown Prince Mohammed for working to revive the relationship after a diplomatic fallout years ago.
Both countries have worked on many projects in the past two years, as part of improving diplomatic ties, especially in further promoting trade and investment.
As such, the prime minister has proposed the establishment of a Thai-GCC Free Trade Area, Mr Chai said.
He said the government will also support Saudi Arabia's plan to host the Riyadh Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup.
The two leaders also discussed other prospective cooperation in many areas, including politics, investment, security, culture and trade, in the future, he said.
Thailand had previously expressed its readiness to host the first Saudi-Thai Coordination Council in Bangkok.
The meeting will be an important mechanism to elevate Saudi-Thai cooperation in the future, Mr Chai said.
Mr Srettha also thanked the Saudi government for taking care of Thai labourers, more than 6,000 of whom reside in the country, Mr Chai said.
Mr Srettha also met representatives of the country's Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) on Saturday to discuss energy investment opportunities.
Both Sabic and Saudi Aramco expressed interest in investing in the energy market in Thailand.
Last year, Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand's PTT on energy industry cooperation, hoping discussions will help elevate cooperation.