NEW DEVELOPMENTS ON LEADERSHIP CHANGE AT JEDDAH

UNCLAS JEDDAH 000499 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SA SUBJECT: NEW DEVELOPMENTS ON LEADERSHIP CHANGE AT JEDDAH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY ¶1. (U) Summary: During a meeting with the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) Project Manager, CG and Commercial Attach learned of new developments at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI),most importantly, additional factors contributing to the removal of the Chairman. The recent moves have prompted changes to the JCCI,s entire management structure. Moreover, due to these leadership changes, the project manager expects major problems with this year's JEF. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On July 15 Consul General (CG) and Commercial Attach (CA) met with Mr. Berhan Haily, the Project Manager for the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF). ¶3. (U) Mr. Haily detailed the latest news/activities from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI),most importantly the removal of Chairman Abdullah Yahyta Al-Mouallimi and the appointment of Saleh A. Al-Turki to replace him. The JCCI Board had asked Chairman Al-Mouallimi to remove Amr Anani, the Chairman of the JEF. The Board was not pleased with Chairman Anani because he was too independent, too liberal, and too western oriented. Additionally, the Board asked Al-Mouallimi to remove the Secretary General, Mohammed Al-Sharif. Mr. Al-Mouallimi did SIPDIS not make the changes fast enough for the Board's satisfaction and a power struggle began with JCCI Board Member, Saleh Al-Turki. Mr. Haily said that in the power struggle of egos, Saleh Al-Turki won. The Board will soon announce the appointment of a group of four (4) Secretaries General. (Note: CA later spoke with Mr. Haily and learned that Mr. Sami F. Bahrawi was named the new Chairman of the JEF and that the position title of Secretary General has been eliminated. The Board just announced that there are now five (5) general managers instead of four (4) Secretaries General.) ¶4. (U) When asked by the CG if the recent high profile elections and appointments of women to the Board of Directors had anything to do with this upheaval, Mr. Haily said no, and that the women's elections were a force unto themselves. It was something that most everyone agreed upon that the time was right for women to be on the Board. He also said that Madhawi Al-Hassoun and the other women support Al-Turki. ¶5. (U) Mr. Haily told the CG that he does not know what Al Turki will try to achieve as the Chairman because in the past he has proven to act impulsively These unspecified past actions and the way that they were carried out, according to Mr. Haily, will negatively affect the image, confidence, reputation, trust and decision-making processes of the JCCI and alienate the small and medium size JCCI member businesses. ¶6. (U) Mr. Haily feels that the JEF will also be negatively impacted because the previous speakers came through the personal contacts of the Chairman. For the next JEF, Chairman Anani had already been in contact with U.N. Secretary General ) Kofi Annan, President of Ghana ) Jerry SIPDIS Rawlings, Bono, Oprah, Colin Powell and others. The program was to focus on Africa, with Innovation and Change as the theme. The planning for this program will be halted since Chairman Anani will no longer be involved. The new Chairman, Saleh Al-Turki, must now begin the difficult task of planning of a new program ) including the topic/focus and speakers, with only a short time for its development. ¶7. (U) Mr. Haily said that the speaker's budget for the JEF is $1.4 million. He said that last year Al Gore received $150,000, Steve Forbes $87,000, Cheri Blair $50,000, and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder &less than $50,0008. These fees were largely to cover transportation for the guests, their bodyguards and other related expenses. The fees were not payment for addressing the JEF. ¶8. (U) When asked what we should expect from Abdullah Yahyta Al-Mouallimi and Amr Anani now, Mr. Haily said that he expects both to retire to quiet, private lives, away from high profile activities. ¶9. (U) Bio Note: Mr. Haily, who is of Ethiopian descent, studied in the U.S., at the University of Maine and Columbia University. He is fluent in English and is very comfortable with Americans. He has lived in Jeddah for the past 20 years. He also said that he plans to leave Jeddah shortly for England, where he will begin studies for a Ph.D. After obtaining the degree, he plans to return to his home in Ethiopia. Gfoeller