YOUNGEST MEMBER OF CHINA DELEGATION PROVIDES

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000098 SIPDIS SIPDIS RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016 TAGS: KISL PTER PREL SA SUBJECT: YOUNGEST MEMBER OF CHINA DELEGATION PROVIDES INSIGHTS ON KING Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL TATIANA C. GFOELLER FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Poloff met on January 29 the youngest member of the delegation of Saudi private citizens that accompanied King Abdullah on his much-heralded recent visit to China. Sultan al-Attar, who turned 25 on the trip, was effusive in his praise for King Abdullah, highlighting the King's ability to overcome the generational divide that seems to keep so many Saudi young men from relating with enior members of the royal family. He also stressed that King Abdullah consistently spoke of women's rights on the trip, and frequently expressed his pride that Saudi women were included in the delegation. END SUMMARY. "I LOVE HIM TEN TIMES MORE NOW" ¶2. (C) On his recent visit to China, King Abdullah brought along a delegation of private Saudi citizens. In a January 29 meeting, Sultan al-Attar, who works for the National Commercial Bank in Jeddah, told Poloff that he was the youngest member of the delegation. "I turned 25 on the trip, and the next youngest person was 33," he explained. The young man said that the SAG sent a private delegation of Saudis along with the King in an attempt to increase people-to-people contacts with China, and to give the Chinese "the real information about Saudi Arabia." Al-Attar, who graduated from Portland State University, was effusive in his praise for the King. "I love him ten times more now than before the trip," he declared. ¶3. (C) As Post often reports, Jeddawi young men frequently cite the generational divide between themselves and senior members of the royal family. In addition, in a consistent trend, Jeddawi young men often express respect and even affection for King Abdullah, while reserving varying degrees of criticism for the rest of the royal family and the SAG as a whole. Al-Attar's comments highlight the King's ability to overcome the generational divide that appears to plague other senior members of the royal family. "You should hear when he talks, you can feel how much he loves the people. He is always thinking about the people," he said. "He is like one of our grandparents who sits with us in the room and says nice things," he added. KING SUPPORTS SAUDI WOMEN ¶4. (C) Al-Attar noted that the King was particularly supportive of women on the trip, and expressed pride that Saudi women were in the delegation. "He is always talking about women's rights, and he was always telling the women to come to the front of the delegation." Socializing with al-Attar, his Kuwaiti wife, and another Saudi couple, the group argued about where to eat dinner. When Poloff suggested the guys defer to the women's choice, al-Attar responded: "No, I have just spent a lot of time with King Abdullah. I am tired of always going with the women's choice. Let's have what the guys want for a change." GROUP NOTES OPPOSITION TO OTHER ROYALS ¶5. (C) While eating a dinner of burgers in al-Attar's living room and watching re-runs of the Saddam Hussein trial on al-Jazeera, the group continued to praise the King. Al-Attar's Saudi buddy attempted to make clear, however, that his support for the King does not extend to other members of the royal family. "Look, if we have men like King Abdullah, the al-Saud can stay for a thousand years," he began. Looking at Poloff, he concluded: "But you need to know people do not like Prince Sultan. It will be very bad if he comes. He will build a wall around Saudi Arabia." Gfoeller