Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DOHA456
2008-06-22 10:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Doha
Cable title:  

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION MEETS

Tags:  ENRG KNNP PARM PREL QA 
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VZCZCXRO0402
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0456/01 1741048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221048Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8009
INFO RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DOHA 000456 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG KNNP PARM PREL QA
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION MEETS
WITH MFA, QATAR FOUNDATION

REF: DOHA 87

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DOHA 000456

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG KNNP PARM PREL QA
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION MEETS
WITH MFA, QATAR FOUNDATION

REF: DOHA 87


1. (SBU) Summary: Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation
Jackie Wolcott and an interagency delegation of State
Department, Department of Energy (DoE),National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA),and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) officials met June 12 with MFA and Qatar
Foundation (QF) officials to discuss bilateral nuclear energy
cooperation and the possibility of signing a non-binding
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on peaceful nuclear
cooperation. Both the MFA and QF are aware that the MOU will
not take effect, and cooperation will not begin, until
Qatar's NPT safeguards agreement is in force. MFA agreed to
follow up with the Embassy and relevant Qatari entities on
pursuing the MOU. For its part, QF said it would push the
GOQ for an MOU to help Qatar build educational and human
resource capacity in the nuclear field. Based on discussions
with QF, Qatar is in no hurry to site a nuclear plant for
electrical energy needs, owing to its vast natural gas
reserves. However, QF wishes to pursue the separate capacity
building track at full speed. QF also expressed interest in
U.S. help in establishing a nuclear regulatory body in Qatar
and in tapping U.S. expertise to study the feasibility of a
nuclear power plant. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation Jackie
Wolcott and an interagency delegation consisting of Andrew
Steinfeld (Office Director for NEA/ARP),Dr. Alex Burkart
(Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Energy Safety and
Security at State),Jack Ramsey (Senior Nuclear Engineer,
National Regulatory Commission),Elizabeth Lisann (Foreign
Affairs Specialist, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Corporate and Global Partnership Development, Department
of Energy),John McClelland-Kerr (Foreign Affairs Specialist,
Office of Global Security Engagement and Cooperation,
National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of
Energy),Dr. Marc Humphrey (Physical Scientist, Office of the
Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation at State),and
Ariel Stukalin (Foreign Affairs Officer, ISN/RA) met June 12
with MFA Director for Legal Affairs Ahmed Hassan Al-Hammadi
and the Science and Technology Adviser at the QF to Her
Highness Sheikha Mozah, Dr. Tidu Maini. P/E Chief and PolOff

also joined the meetings. Proposed meetings with the Supreme
Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR) were
called off shortly before the delegation arrived, as these
officials were in Belgium discussing nuclear cooperation
there. Similarly, proposed meetings with the Ministry of
Energy fell though at the last minute due to bureaucratic
snafus, indicative of the disorganization on the Qatari
Government side observed by the delegation (in contrast to
the very good impression left by QF).


3. (SBU) Ambassador Wolcott explained in the separate
meetings at MFA and QF that Secretary Rice had appointed her
to implement the July 2007 U.S.-Russian Declaration on
Nuclear Energy and Nonproliferation. Through the joint
Declaration, the U.S. and Russia seek to cooperate with
countries considering nuclear energy to promote the highest
standards of safety, security and nonproliferation.
Ambassador Wolcott noted tat the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi
Arabia had signed on-binding memoranda of understanding
(MOUs) wit the U.S. in recent weeks at the ministerial
levl, and that the U.S. iswilling to sign an MOU shold
Qatar wish to enter such an arrangement. Al-Hammadi told
Ambassador Wolcott that he would take a look at the draft MOU
and coordinate a GOQ response. Asked how soon the MOU needed
to be signed, Ambassador Wolcott responded that the sooner an
MOU is in place, the sooner bilateral cooperation could
begin.


4. (SBU) Burkart signaled in both meetings that Qatar's
signing of a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) safeguards
agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency is
essential, in the U.S. view, to cooperation. Al-Hammadi said
the safeguards agreement and similar assurances are in the
domain of MFA Director for UN Affairs and International
Organizations Adel Al-Khal, who was traveling and unavailable
for a meeting June 12. Al-Hammadi and P/E Chief agreed to
coordinate with Al-Khal on the U.S. requirements for signing
the MOU. Maini said QF would work behind the scenes with the
GOQ to have this agreement and any other necessary
arrangements finalized.


5. (SBU) Lisann briefed MFA and QF on the Global Nuclear
Energy Partnership (GNEP),noting that Qatar would soon be
invited to join the other participant countries. She
explained that membership status would require Qatar's
signing on to GNEP's Statement of Principles, but that
observer status would not require any such commitment.

DOHA 00000456 002 OF 003


Stukalin also briefed MFA on the Global Initiative to Combat
Nuclear Terrorism.

--------------
Qatar Foundation
--------------


6. (SBU) Maini, who was joined at QF by Dr. Eulian Roberts
(Director of the QF Science and Technology Park),briefed the
delegation on QF's role. He explained that QF, along with
Texas A&M/Qatar -- whose campus in Doha is under QF auspices
-- and Qatar University, is primarily focused on "capacity
building" in the areas of energy, environment, and health
care. Indeed, this is one of the aims of the Science and
Technology Park, where collaborative efforts among various
companies are expected to achieve new synergies. Maini cited
as an example cooperation between General Electric and
Conoco-Phillips -- neighbors in the Park -- on water
desalination. For every gallon of oil extracted from the
ground, said Maini, three gallons of water are wasted.
Working together, the two U.S. firms aim to reduce this
waste.


7. (SBU) Besides petroleum-based programs, the Science and
Technology Park is developing research partnerships in the
nuclear and solar energy fields, according to Maini. Maini
said that "upstream" solar research (i.e., the development of
polycrystalline material) is the best place for Qatar to
focus. QF has as a goal opening a factory to produce more
such material in 2010. Also in the solar field, QF is
working on research on wafers, panels, and power stations.


8. (SBU) In Maini's opinion, Qatar "ought to look at" the
possibility of nuclear power generation within twenty years'
time, though it is too early to consider building a plant
now. Maini commented that the UAE is moving forward much
faster than Qatar, largely because its industry is more
energy intensive and its power needs more urgent. Not so
Qatar, which could afford to take a slower, more measured
approach, given its natural gas holdings (the third largest
in the world). Under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha
Mozah (who was described by Maini as a "strategic thinker"),
QF has therefore made human resource development the early
priority. Maini made clear that capacity building in the
medical, agricultural and power fields are on a different
track from possible nuclear plant construction. The
feasibility of the latter, stressed Maini, is still being
assessed, but QF is moving forward as quickly as possible on
the former.


9. (SBU) Maini acknowledged that the French had sent a
delegation to Doha to promote French cooperation in
determining nuclear plant feasibility and building nuclear
capacity. He observed, however, that the French were aware
that Qatar is not ready to buy a nuclear power plant, and
were therefore more interested in the UAE, since that program
was moving ahead at a much more rapid pace. Maini added that
U.S. companies do not seem interested in pursuing the
construction of a nuclear plant in Qatar due to the small
scale of the country's current needs. Maini said for the
foreseeable future Qatar would continue to rely on foreign
workers to build infrastructure. In response to a question
about the possibility of a regional approach to nuclear power
in the Gulf, Maini stated that it would not be unheard of,
for example, to import electricity from Saudi Arabia, though
it would be complicated by poor grid quality. Asked who in
Qatar would be responsible for nuclear regulation, Maini
responded that in principle this lies with SCENR, which is
composed primarily of Qatari nationals. Roberts added that
he was aware that indigenous regulatory oversight has to be
"built into the process" and that QF aims at boosting the
number of homegrown engineers and technicians over the longer
term.

--------------
Expanded Meeting at QF
--------------


10. (SBU) Joined by Professor Ilham Al-Qaradawi, Associate
Professor of Physics at Qatar University, and Associate Dean
for Research and Graduate Studies James Holste and Professor
Howard Hadley of Texas A&M/Qatar, the delegation began more
detailed discussions. Maini asked if the U.S. could, as a
discrete project, assist Qatar in creating a regulatory body
for nuclear energy. Ramsey responded that NRC has 30 years
of experience in the nuclear regulatory field and is
currently home to 104 reactors, adding that the U.S. would
potentially host 134 total reactors in the years ahead.
Ramsey then outlined the U.S. NRC design certification

DOHA 00000456 003 OF 003


process, followed by the matching of an approved generic
design to a proposed plant site, that then leads to a review
of fitness for a nuclear plant proposal. Maini said Qatar
would be interested in pursuing with U.S. officials the
establishment of a national regulatory authority. Ambassador
Wolcott encouraged Qatar, at an appropriate time, to send a
team to Washington for discussions in this area. Maini
reemphasized that QF was taking a two-track approach to
nuclear power, based on capacity building and feasibility
studies. He expressed interest in moving rapidly on the
former (i.e., a cooperation package for the development of a
national regulator) while acknowledging that the latter is
more complex and should wait until an MOU is in place.


11. (SBU) Asked what other requirements Qatar would need to
meet to pursue bilateral arrangements with the U.S. in
civilian nuclear power, Burkart responded that, while a 123
Agreement would be necessary for the transfer of nuclear
materials or major reactor components, other types of
cooperation (such as regulatory information exchanges) could
take place outside of a formal MOU or 123 Agreement. He
added that certain types of technology transfer would require
a DOE license, while transfer of certain dual-use items would
require licensing from the Department of Commerce. He added
that the proposed MOU would be a non-binding but useful tool
to facilitate exchanges, noting that Texas A&M and U.S.
industry would wait for an MOU before significant
nuclear-sector engagement. Burkart also stressed that a
full-scope safeguards agreement remains essential to
bilateral cooperation with Qatar. He also mentioned the
importance of practical conventions that codify "best
practices," and the U.S. side undertook to provide a handout
summarizing these various safety, security, and liability
conventions.


12. (SBU) Turning to nuclear plant feasibility studies, Maini
asked what assistance the U.S. could provide in this area.
McClelland-Kerr said that NNSA (which is part of DOE) could
be of assistance in both energy planning and feasibility
studies. Asked how to begin cooperation in this area,
McClelland-Kerr noted that a work plan would first need to be
developed, and Burkart recommended that a Qatari contact be
put in touch with a DOE contact to coordinate this. It was
noted that a feasibility study had recently been done in
Jordan, which could serve as an exemplar. In terms of
funding, the U.S. side noted that it has more capacity than
resources, and raised the prospect of Qatar paying for this
study. Lisann then provided a briefing on the Global Nuclear
Energy Partnership (GNEP),and noted that this could serve as
another vehicle for such cooperation.


13. (SBU) Al-Qaradawi made a short presentation on
educational and research capacity building efforts undertaken
by QF. She noted that there were currently two areas of
interest: environmental studies (e.g., measurement of
baseline radiation levels) and research with low-energy
positrons. In addition, radiation labs and other equipment
for education and research were being established as part of
the collaboration between Qatar University and Texas
A&M/Qatar. Also in place is a measurement verification
program with Sandia National Laboratory.


14. (SBU) Maini closed the meeting by reiterating that QF
would engage MFA on why Qatar would benefit from an MOU with
the U.S. and acknowledged the importance of the IAEA
safeguards agreement (to which Burkart noted that the process
of signing such an agreement is quite straightforward and
there is little negotiation involved). Maini said
interagency discussions on a common Qatari policy in the
nuclear realm would likely begin in October, following the
establishment of a Ministry of Energy and QF joint working
group (under as-yet undecided independent leadership) to
address overall policy differences between the two sides.
Maini alluded to QF's desire for speed in ramping up capacity
building, while Energy (see reftel) sees no need to hurry on
nuclear energy issues. Ambassador Wolcott, following up on
the need for a safeguards agreement, asked who would take
lead on this aspect of policy. Maini did not know but said
SCENR may take lead on it once the new committee is formed.
Following the close of the meeting, Maini proposed that
Ambassador Wolcott draft a short letter to Sheikha Mozah,
summarizing her visit and stressing the importance of having
a comprehensive safeguards agreement and MOU in place before
further cooperation, in order to leverage Mozah's influence
within the Qatari Government. Wolcott agreed, and a letter
was sent and delivered to QF on June 17.


15. (U) Ambassador Wolcott has cleared this message.
RATNEY