CHANGES AFOOT AT THE JEDDAH ECONOMIC FORUM

UNCLAS JEDDAH 000513

SIPDIS

RIYADH PASS TO DHAHRAN

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PREL PREL SA
SUBJECT: CHANGES AFOOT AT THE JEDDAH ECONOMIC FORUM


Reference: JEDDAH 00497


1. (U) SUMMARY. On July 23 Consul General (CG) and Commercial
Attache (CA) met the new Chairman and the Project Manager of the
Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF). The CG learned of the ongoing changes
at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI),the Kingdom's
plans to increase tourism and the ways in which the Consulate could
provide support for the JEF.
END SUMMARY.



2. (U) The Consul General (CG) and the Commercial Attache (CA) met
with Mr. Sami Fouad Bahrawi, the new Chairman of the JEF, and with
Mr. Berhan Hailu, the Project Manager of the JEF. Mr. Bahrawi gave
his version of the recent events with the Board of Directors of the
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). He emphasized that
the recent changes on the Board were a result of the agenda not
being implemented by the previous chairman. He said that it was not
a personality clash and proof of that is that the previous agenda is
still to be implemented by the current chairman.



3. (U) Mr. Bahrawi continued by saying that the new Chairman of the
Board of the JCCI, Mr. Saleh A. Al-Turki, has initiated a 90-day
timetable to implement changes that will enable the board to more
efficiently implement the agenda. He said that the JCCI would be
restructured with one Secretary General and four general managers.
Each of the general managers will be responsible for one area. The
areas are Women's Interests, International Investment, Tourism, and
Labor Development. Mr. Bahrawi also said that the role of women
will be increased and they would be appointed to more committees.



4. (U) Mr. Bahrawi said that the theme for the February 25, 2007
JEF would be "Economic Reform in Boom Times" and the focus will be
on answering the question, "How does the business community
implement economic reform while making the most of this boom time?"
Related to this theme, he said that the King Abdullah Economic City
would become a reality. He said that its development is under the
control and organization of the Saudi Arabian General Investment
Authority (SAGIA) and that it will provide one-stop shopping on how
to do business in Saudi Arabia. (See Reftel) He said that many
industrial projects would be located in the new Economic City. (See
Septel)



5. (U) The CG asked how the Consulate General could help the JEF.
Mr. Bahrawi said that he would like the Consulate to help identify
an educational partner. The JEF would require a well-known "brand"
university that would increase the interest of the target audience.
After he provides the Consulate General with the agenda, he would
like help in identifying speakers. The speakers who had previously
agreed to participate may change, because the theme of the event has
changed. Lastly, he said that in an effort to increase the
audience's interest and enthusiasm during the event, he would like
to add an element of interactivity. He requested that the Consulate
General help to identify electronic equipment that would encourage
audience interaction with the speakers. The CG agreed to help
identify a brand university and immediately arranged an appointment
for Bahrawi with the Public Affairs Officer. The CA agreed to
identify suppliers of electronic equipment that would enable
interaction between the speakers and the audience.



6. (U) The group discussed the new Saudi focus on tourism. When
asked if tourism is a viable option for the Kingdom when you
consider the cultural restrictions that will discourage many
Westerners from visiting the country, Mr. Bahrawi responded that the
Kingdom is open to tourism because it realizes that oil revenues
will not indefinitely remain at the current level. He said that
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz is very interested in the development
of tourism in the country. Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz
is the Secretary General of the Higher Tourism Commission. Under
his leadership, one of his priorities is a kind of "sensitivity"
the training for everyone who comes into contact with tourists.
Even the muttawa must receive training related to interactions with
tourists. (NOTE: The Muttawa are Saudi Arabia's vigilant religious
police responsible for enforcing dress codes and the separation of
the sexes.)

GFOELLER