INSIDE PRINCE KHALED'S DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000519

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN, DEPT PASS TO NEA/ARP FOR
RJACHIM/SRAMESH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2017
TAGS: ECON PGOV SA SCUL SOCI
SUBJECT: INSIDE PRINCE KHALED'S DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS

REF: JEDDAH 00512

Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (S) SUMMARY: During a December 16 meeting with the CG,
prominent Jeddah businessman Loay Bougary (strictly protect)
described Prince Khaled's development plans for Mecca
Province, and gave a detailed account of the consultative
cabinet of experts which the prince organized to advise on
these plans. The cabinet proposed initiatives addressing
twelve issues, including education reform, women's
empowerment, managing corruption, and the razing of slums.
Selected cabinet participants continue to work on final plans
of action, with implementation to begin on each plan in a
matter of months. END SUMMARY.

DEVELOPMENT PLANS CONCEIVED IN ASIR, EXPANDED IN MECCA


2. (S) During a December 16 meeting with the CG over lunch,
prominent Jeddah real estate businessman Loay Bougary
described Prince Khaled's development plans for Mecca
Province. Bougary's account updated the description Prince
Khaled provided to the CG during her earlier visit to his
Jeddah office to congratulate him on assuming the
governorship of Mecca Province. These plans constitute an
expanded version of the development program that the prince
initiated in Asir while governor of that province (reftel).

SOLICITING EXPERTS' ADVICE


3. (S) Bougary received an inside look at Prince Khaled's
development plans while participating in a 120-member
consultative "kitchen cabinet" organized by the prince. This
practice is typical of the Western management innovations
favored by Prince Khaled, a known reformer and modernizer who
regularly consults with experts as part of his strategic
planning.


4. (S) The 120 members of the cabinet were locked up in a
Jeddah hotel for five days and nights. During the day, they
met in a large auditorium with 12 tables of 10 members each.
Bougary stated that the 120 were an ad hoc group, picked
individually and personally by the prince for their expertise
in an eclectic variety of areas and their independence of
spirit. What astonished and pleased Bougary at the same time
was the presence of women among the 120. Some tables
included members of both genders, though "regrettably,"
Bougary's did not; "unfortunately, I was seated with some
very conservative men who did not want to share our table
with women," he explained to the CG.


5. (S) Each table was directed to focus on a topic from a
list that included education reform, corruption, women's
empowerment, illegal Hajj over-stayers, and the razing of
slums. Bougary was particularly interested in this last
issue and had valuable expertise to contribute as he is one
of Jeddah,s most prominent real estate businessmen. On a
personal note, he told the CG that sixty per cent of his
native city of Mecca is up for razing and that his family
owns a hundred-year-old house in the center of the city which
it fears will go under the chopping block. Large swaths of
Jeddah's slum neighborhoods will definitely be razed and
their illegal ex-Hajji inhabitants deported in the near
future, he added.

FINALIZING, THEN IMPLEMENTING


6. (S) After five days, the cabinet members submitted their
reports and were released. The next week, Prince Khaled
invited the forty most impressive participants, including
Bougary, to reconvene at an area school. This time, the
session lasted only one day and participants sat around one
large table chaired by the prince, who charged them with
writing up detailed plans of action for each of the twelve
topics covered in the first session. Again, women were
involved. The completed plans are expected within a matter
of months, with implementation to begin on each plan as it is
submitted.


7. (S) COMMENT: Although the idea of a consultative council
is rooted in Islamic tradition (and most prominently
exemplified by the Majlis al-Shura that advises King
Abdullah),Prince Khaled's use of this leadership model is
distinctive for his 30-year track record of embracing the
advice of his experts and following through with rigorous
implementation plans. If the national debate over whether to
expand the role of the King's Majlis al-Shura is taken as a
bellwether for Saudi attitudes towards political

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liberalization, Prince Khaled's heavily consultative style of
governing Mecca Province may represent the forefront of a
trend. END COMMENT.
GFOELLER