CG MEETS NEW JAPANESE CONSUL GENERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000469

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP;
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2016
TAGS: ECON JA KISL PREL SA
SUBJECT: CG MEETS NEW JAPANESE CONSUL GENERAL

Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On July 8, the Consul General and Pol/Econ
Chief met the new Japanese Consul General in Jeddah. His
primary objective is to promote Japanese business activities
in western Saudi Arabia. As part of his duties, he will
monitor and facilitate a major Saudi-Japanese petrochemical
project in Yanbu. Despite the achievements of major Japanese
firms, the Japanese CG related that small and medium Japanese
firms have difficulty operating in foreign environments that
do not share the Japanese business ethic. Currently, the
Japanese Consulate serves a very small expatriate community,
but these major development projects will increase its work.
The Japanese CG professed to have found the Saudi bureaucracy
unresponsive and slow. Like his diplomatic colleagues, he
closely monitors the security environment and appreciated
cooperation he had received from ConGen RSO. END SUMMARY.

NEW JAPANESE CONSUL GENERAL IN JEDDAH


2. (C) On July 8, the CG received a courtesy call from newly
appointed Consul General of Japan, Toshimitsu Ishigure. Also
present was Jeddah Pol/Econ Chief. Ishigure assumed his
position on April 25 of this year. Prior to Jeddah he was
with the section of the Japanese Foreign Ministry responsible
for relations with European international organizations. He
had most recently been working on Japanese relations with
NATO. Ishigure joined the Japanese Foreign Ministry about

1974. He is a specialist in Middle Europe and speaks Czech.
He has also been intimately involved in international
organizations, having worked for UNDP where he was involved
in disaster relief activities. Earlier in his career he
spent three years in Papua New Guinea.

MAJOR TASK: ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS RELATIONS


3. (C) Ishigure told the CG his primary task while in Jeddah
is to monitor and promote Japanese business in western Saudi
Arabia. The current bustling Saudi economy, combined with
the Saudi government's explicit policy of seeking stronger
relations with Asia, has turned many Japanese businessmen's
attention to the Kingdom. However, as of yet, only the very
largest Japanese firms have braved the Saudi market.

JAPANESE INROADS IN PETROCHEMICALS


4. (C) Ishigure's immediate goal is to facilitate the
recently signed Japan-Saudi Arabia agreements for development
of petrochemical facilities at Yanbu and Rabigh (The proposed
site for the huge King Abdullah Economic City project.) The
Yanbu project is valued at more than $100 million. Ishigure
expects that with follow-on developments in Rabigh, the value
of the agreements will exceed $300-400 million. He estimated
that the development phase for these projects will create
more than 20,000 jobs, many of them to be filled by Japanese.
Japanese firms are also involved in major water desalination
projects in the Kingdom.

SMALL AND MEDIUM JAPANESE BUSINESSES ARE NAIVE


5. (C) In discussing Japanese international business
efforts, Ishigure described small- and medium-sized
businesses as being rather naive in a foreign environment.
Because Japanese firms are so accustomed to the environment
of trust that exists in Japan, they are easily misled by
foreigners who operate by different rules. He cited the
example of China. Although large Japanese firms have few
difficulties, he said many smaller businesses have very bad
experiences. He described the process thus: The Chinese
authorities promise a prospective business land and labor, if
the Japanese provides the money and know-how. After the
business has become established, the Chinese then change the
rules and refuse to repatriate the profits or allow the
business to be liquidated. Consequently, many of these
small- and medium-sized Japanese firms are forced to leave
China with nothing and "some of these businessmen end up
driving taxi cabs back in Tokyo."

BUSINESS WILL INCREASE CONSULAR WORK FOR JAPANESE


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6. (C) Presently, the Japanese Consulate's activities are
limited. The Japanese community in the Western Arabia
consular district consists of only 160 individuals. Japan
has an insignificant Muslim population ("less than 100
people"),so pilgrims are not a major task. Ishigure did
reveal that they were dealing with one child abduction case.
A Japanese woman had married a Saudi in Japan. The family
had traveled to Abu Dhabi, where the husband abandoned the
wife and took the children to Saudi Arabia. The CG related
some of the difficulties experienced by Americans in similar
situations.


7. (C) As the major Saudi-Japan projects get underway, the
Consulate's labors will increase. Dealing with the demand
for travel and residence documents will be a major obligation
for the Japanese Consulate. Ishigure admitted that even in
the short time he had been in Saudi Arabia, he has found the
bureaucracy difficult to manage. After nearly three months,
he still has not received his iqama (residence permit). The
CG assured him that everyone suffered the same difficulties.

SECURITY IS A MAJOR CONSIDERATION


8. (C) Like all foreign missions in the Kingdom, Ishigure
said that monitoring the security environment in the country
would be an important task for him. He praised the advice
and cooperation he had already received from ConGen's RSO
following the shooting incident at ConGen Jeddah in May. The
Japanese Consulate is located only three streets east of the
U.S. Consulate, and he appreciated the warning and follow-up
information supplied to his staff. The CG comforted Ishigure
with the information that there is no history of Asians being
targeted by terrorists in the Kingdom.
Gfoeller