SAUDI-U.K. RELATIONS IMPROVING

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 003491


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI-U.K. RELATIONS IMPROVING

Classified By: Classified By: A/DCM DAVID RUNDELL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary. During a May 1 dinner, a British Polof
who coordinated U.K. Embassy Riyadh,s recent high-level
visits commented on the significant improvement in Saudi-U.K.
relations over the past two years. He said that Saudi
Arabia,s imprisonment and torture of five Britons from
December 2001 to August 2003 and the U.K.,s official fraud
investigations of British Aerospace operations in Saudi
Arabia in 2004 had severely strained relations between the
two countries. Prince Charles and Lady Camilla,s visit
March 24-26 and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw,s visit April
15-16 played a role in re-building Saudi-U.K. ties. End
Summary.


2. (C) British Polof said that Britain had moved past its
outrage over Saudi Arabia,s treatment of the five Britons
imprisoned for allegedly organizing a series of car bombings
in Riyadh. Following a personal appeal by Prime Minister Tony
Blair in mid-2003, the Britons were pardoned by King Fahd.
Diplomatic relations had been dealt another blow when the
U.K. Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation in 2004
into the false accounting on contracts between the SAG and
several British firms involved in defense work. The fraud
investigation did not lead to any charges against members of
the Saudi Royal family. Additionally, the SAG was pleased
when the U.K. arrested radical British-Egyptian imam Abu
Hamza al-Masri in mid-2004 under Terrorism Act 2000 and
sentenced him to seven years imprisonment in February 2006.
Al-Masri had repeatedly criticized the Saudi government in
his sermons.


3. (C) During the March 24-26 visit, Lady Camilla,s
first, the royal couple met with King Abdullah and Crown
Prince Sultan. Prince Charles became the first Westerner to
speak at Riyadh,s Imam Muhammad bin Saud University. Lady
Camilla was warmly received at the Nahda Philanthropic
Society for Women. British Polof said that members of the
two royal families spoke at length about their respective
family members and traditions allowing the House of Saud and
the House of Windsor build upon their royal commonality.


4. (C) The Second Saudi-British conference in Riyadh April
15-16 was co-chaired by Prince Saud al-Faisal and Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw. The conference, &Two Kingdoms:
Friendship and Partnership8, built upon a similar London
conference in 2005. During the Riyadh conference, Foreign
Secretary Straw hinted that the U.K. is a better choice for
businessmen and students than the U.S. by calling the British
Embassy &the best visa service in town: 98 percent of visas
issued within 24 hours.8 COMMENT: This compares with the
current 14 week wait for student visa interviews at the US
Embassy in Riyadh. End Comment.


5. (C) According to British Poloff, MI5 Director Eliza
Manningham-Buller visited Saudi Arabia twice in 2005.
British officials were impressed with the Saudi,s
anti-terrorism campaign, particularly its efforts to turn
potential jihadis away from violent ideology.


6. (C) COMMENT: With the arrest cases and fraud
investigation largely behind them, HMG is trying hard to
improve relations with Saudi Arabia. At stake is the renewal
of the al-Yamamah project to which British Aerospace,s
fortunes in the Kingdom are largely tied. The &Two Kingdoms
Conferences8, the visits of Prince Charles and Foreign
Secretary Straw as well as increased counter terrorism
cooperation are all part of this effort. However, to date
the al-Yamamah Project with its sale of up to 70 billion
dollars worth of aircraft has yet to be finalized. End
Comment.


GFOELLER