UNESCO: SESAME CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON CONTINUED MID EAST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 005183

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION TO UNESCO PARIS

STATE FOR IO/UNESCO Kevin PILZ, OES BARRIE RIPIN, OES/STAS ANDREW W.
REYNOLDS, NEA ALICE ARMITAGE
STATE FOR NSC GENE WHITNEY
STATE FOR DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ROBIN GILCHRIST, STEPHANIE
WHEPLEY
STATE FOR NSF INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
STATE FOR DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNESCO TPHY TSPA KISL SOCI XF JO
SUBJECT: UNESCO: SESAME CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON CONTINUED MID EAST
COOPERATION ON PARTICLE ACCELERATION PROJECT



1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY. The Council of the Synchrotron Light
for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East
(SESAME) convened for its eighth meeting at UNESCO Headquarters on
July 10-11, 2006. The centerpiece of the program is a synchrotron
light source, to be installed in Jordan, that will be the first in
the Middle East and Southern Mediterranean. When fully operational,
SESAME will be the Middle East's first major international center
for co-operation in a field that offers many opportunities for
training and research in basic and applied sciences, technology and
medicine.


2. Much of the meeting focused on the progress being made toward
having the SESAME facility up and running on schedule. There were
updates on the building itself, the budget, and cooperation with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A special session with
permanent delegates to UNESCO included a discussion on science in
Muslim countries. A side conversation between mission
representatives and SESAME Director Khaled Toukan, who is also the
Jordanian Minister of Education, focused on ongoing high-level
contacts between Jordanian officials and U.S. officials on SESAME.
END INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY.

JORDANIAN MINISTER STRESSES SUPPORT FOR SESAME


3. In a conversation with Stanford University Professor Herman
Winick, one of the founders of the SESAME project, and Khaled
Toukan, Director of the SESAME project and Jordanian Minister of
Education, mission representatives were briefed on Toukan's recent
meeting with Dr. John Marburger, the Director of the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy. At this one-hour meeting
in Amman, Dr. Marburger and Toukan discussed SESAME. Toukan also
spoke of his meeting with Education Secretary Spellings in
Sharm-el-Sheik two months ago, during which they also discussed
SESAME. Toukan also cited Jordanian King Abdullah's meeting with
Secretary Bodman, during which SESAME was also on the agenda.

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4. Winick then spoke separately to U.S. Mission to UNESCO Science
officer and intern about the American Physical Society Conference he
is organizing in Denver in March, that Toukan will attend. Winick
would also like to organize a meeting in Washington, directly before
or after the March conference, with Mr. Toukan, Dr. Marburger,
Secretary Bodman, Ambassador Oliver and possibly others, to discuss

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SESAME.

UNESCO AND SESAME LEADERS SAY SESAME IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK


5. In the welcoming address, UNESCO Assistant Director General for
Natural Sciences Walter Erdelen, praised the progress being made on
SESAME, and pledged UNESCO's continuing support until SESAME could
"fly with its own wings." After that, UNESCO and SESAME will work
together as equal partners. In his remarks, SESAME Council
President Herwig Schopper noted that Portugal was a new Observer to
the Council (as is France) and that Japan will most likely join the
council as an observer soon. Finally, he said that science would be
an important element in bridging the gap between the developed and
the developing worlds.

IAEA PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO SESAME


6. Jean-Pierre Cayol of the IAEA then spoke of the IAEA's
assistance to SESAME. He highlighted a fellowships program arranged
by IAEA that will allow for scientists from SESAME countries to have
additional training. Cayol then spoke of progress on a Memorandum
of Understanding that will set the framework for cooperation between
the IAEA and SESAME. He also highlighted a new Inter-Regional
project dedicated to SESAME, the "Support for Human Capacity
Building in Utilization and Operation of the SESAME." This will
allow SESAME members who are also members of the IAEA to benefit
from training funded by the IAEA.

PROGRESS ON BUILDING IS GOOD, BUT MORE FUNDING IS NEEDED


7. SESAME Director (and Jordanian Education Minister) Khaled Toukan
spoke of SESAME's progress. He stated that SESAME is 80% of the way
to being fully functioning. The construction of the SESAME building
in Jordan continues to go well; the building should be completed in
November 2006, and staff members should be able to move in by March

2007. There is a delay in the beamlines; beamline commissioning
will not be done until October 2010.


8. On a positive note, the Director then turned to the subject of
scientific proposals. SESAME has so far received 70 scientific
proposals from member states, observer states, and non-member
states. Mr. Toukan especially noted the proposals from Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates, both non-member states, as a positive
sign. Jordan and Israel have submitted the most proposals. There
is one proposal from the U.S.


9. On funding, Mr. Toukan stated that while the Jordanian government
will be willing to provide more funding, the SESAME Council would
like the project to be multilateral, not national. In order for
SESAME to be truly multilateral, funds need to come from sources
other than Jordan. In order for SESAME to be operational by 2010,
15 million euros will be needed. Mr. Toukan urged member states to
pay their dues in a timely manner. He then turned to the budget,
noting that the budget for 2007 ($2,825,000) is significantly larger
than the budget for 2006 ($1,122,086). This is because SESAME will
be operating out of the main SESAME building in 2007, instead of out
of the UNESCO field office in Amman, as it is now. There are
currently 14 staff members, including technical staff, the
directorate, and administrative staff. Member States approved the
2006 budget, and discussed the 2007 budget. The Council will decide
whether or not to approve the 2007 budget in December of this year,
at the next council meeting in Jordan.


10. Observer missions were briefed on a closed Session of member
states and states that were on the interim council of SESAME.
Member states concluded that the chairman of the Beamline Committee
should rotate, and that a Pakistani will be the new chair, beginning
in January 2007. They also discussed how to get more involvement
from the European Union (EU) and concluded that they needed to make
clear that SESAME is a regional, not a national, project. The
Council called on observer missions from European states to convey
this message to the European Commission.

SPECIAL SESSION DISCUSSES SESAME, SCIENCE IN ARAB WORLD


11. The program concluded with a special session with selected
Permanent Delegations to UNESCO to inform them of SESAME's progress.
The information provided was a summary of the more detailed
presentations given the day before in front of the Council. In
addition, the Chair of the Beamlines Committee of SESAME, Samar
Hasnain of the UK, gave a presentation on light source rings
throughout the world, highlighting science's role in creating
economic wealth. Professor Rahighi of Iran, Chair of the Training
Committee of SESAME, talked of the training that had already taken
place and that was to take place among SESAME scientists. In
particular, he praised Winick's efforts to provide training to
Middle Eastern scientists. While noting SESAME's success in
attracting users and interest, he said there were not enough
training programs to meet demand. Finally, Professor Schopper gave
a presentation about scientific development in the Middle East,
saying that while the Qu'ran promotes scientific understanding, the
Arab world today neglects its scientists, causing the "brain drain."
He said that governments in the Islamic world need to change their
attitude towards science, and begin financing scientific research.
In the discussion that followed Schopper's presentation, both
Palestinian and Jordanian representatives praised his ideas. The UK
Ambassador to UNESCO stressed that the UNESCO Director General
should lobby Middle Eastern states to begin funding scientific
research. Oliver