Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JEDDAH12
2008-01-08 12:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jeddah
Cable title:  

GCC COUNTRIES IMPRESSED WITH ABHA CULTURE AND

Tags:  PREL SCUL SOCIO SA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7628
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHJI #0012 0081213
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 081213Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0450
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0124
C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000012 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP FOR BOB JACHIM AND SANJAY RAMESH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2018
TAGS: PREL SCUL SOCIO SA
SUBJECT: GCC COUNTRIES IMPRESSED WITH ABHA CULTURE AND
COMMERCE FESTIVAL


Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000012

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP FOR BOB JACHIM AND SANJAY RAMESH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2018
TAGS: PREL SCUL SOCIO SA
SUBJECT: GCC COUNTRIES IMPRESSED WITH ABHA CULTURE AND
COMMERCE FESTIVAL


Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).


1. (C) The CG visited the Yemeni Consulate General on
December 31 to offer condolences for the death of Sheikh
Abdullah Bin Hussein Al Ahmar, the speaker of Yemen's
parliament. During the visit, the Yemeni CG, Ambassador
Mohammed Al Qutaish, said that he had read much about the
American Culture and Commerce Festival organized by ConGen
Jeddah in Abha in November (septel). Ambassador Al Qutaish
said that the Consuls General for the various GCC countries
in Jeddah had taken note and were impressed that the USG
carried out a project of this scale outside of the Kingdom's
three largest cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran. The
Gulf CG's had spoken with many Jeddawis who had traveled to
Abha for the festival, and had also met Asir locals who were
both touched and proud that their province was receiving such
attention from the USG.


2. (C) Ambassador Al Qutaish said that he is now planning a
similar project in conjunction with the other Gulf CG's, who
all feel "a little bit ashamed that we have neglected to
share our diverse cultural traditions with our brother
Muslims, the Saudis, while Americans have done it." However,
he complained that Yemen's proximity to the Kingdom produces
a high caseload of immigration and labor issues that prevents
him from devoting sufficient time to cultural outreach
projects. He further stated that there are approximately
500,000 Yemeni guest workers in the Western Province of Saudi
Arabia alone and that he is "responsible" for all of them.
Thus, paradoxically, Yemen is less able to engage its
neighbor through cultural diplomacy than is the
geographically remote USG. (Note: he did not discuss
directly the reason for his GCC colleagues' lack of cultural
involvement throughout the Western Province but implied that
they would have more time and money to devote to such
projects than the Yemeni Consulate General. End Note.)


3. (C) Nonetheless, Ambassador Al Qutaish noted that, like
ConGen Jeddah, Yemeni diplomats are able to make regular
visits to the ten major cities in the Western Region: Tabuk,
Yanbu, Medina, Taif, Al Baha, Abha, Jizan, Najran, and
Farasan, as well as Mecca. Al Qutaish concluded with an only
slightly veiled reference to the fact that much of the
southern Western Province is actually "Yemeni in character
and culture" since it was conquered from Yemen by Saudi
Arabia. "For myself, I am going to concentrate on telling
Yemen's cultural story to northerners, like people in Tabuk.
The people in the South share our culture already."
GFOELLER