JEDDAH TO HOST NUCLEAR ENERGY SYMPOSIUM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000179

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2018
TAGS: ENRG EPET PGOV PREL PINR PARM TNGD TRGY KCIP
KNNP, SA
SUBJECT: JEDDAH TO HOST NUCLEAR ENERGY SYMPOSIUM

Classified By: Acting Consul General CB Toney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Department of Nuclear Engineering at King
Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah is planning to host the
"International Symposium on the Peaceful Applications of
Nuclear Technology in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Countries" in November 2008. In a discussion with the
Chairman of KAU's Nuclear Engineering Department, he revealed
that his program has very few students preparing to work in
the field of nuclear energy. He believes it is critical that
Saudi Arabia invest in alternative energies in anticipation
of depleted fossil fuel resources. Acknowledging that the
GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, currently lack the
capacity to develop a nuclear energy program, he shared his
personal bias for a Saudi partnership with the U.S. on
nuclear energy cooperation. END SUMMARY.

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SYMPOSIUM ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY IN GCC COUNTRIES
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2. (C) Pol/Econ Offs met April 1 with Dr. Mohammed S.
Aljohani, a professor and Chairman of the Department of
Nuclear Engineering at KAU in Jeddah. The University was
scheduled to hold the "International Symposium on the
Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Technology in the GCC
Countries" April 14-16, but the event has been postponed
until November 3, 2008.


3. (U) The symposium is being planned in response to the
resolution of the 16th meeting of the GCC committee of the
presidents of universities and higher education institutions
in GCC countries. The resolution was to activate the
declaration of the closing statement of the GCC leaders in
their 27th Summit held in Riyadh, December 2006 that
announced the intention to pursue application of nuclear
technology for peaceful purposes and the establishment of a
joint plan in this regard. The GCC leaders commissioned a
study to set up a common purpose in the area of nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with international
standards and systems. This common nuclear related activity
will abide by international treaties and be subject to
verification inspections.


4. (U) The symposium will cover the following topics:

Strategic Planning for Introducing Nuclear Technology in the
GCC Countries
- Education and Manpower Development
- Nuclear Regulations and Legislation
- Nuclear Technology Transfer
- Strategic Planning for Nuclear Research Reactors Program
- Strategic Planning for Nuclear Power Generation Programs

Nuclear Power
- Future of Nuclear Power Worldwide
- Experience of Developing Countries
- Nuclear Desalination
- Future Needs of the GCC Countries
- Nuclear Reactors Safety

Nuclear Research Reactors
- International Experience of Research Reactors
- Utilization of Research Reactors
- Current and Future Needs of the GCC Countries
- Experience of Developing Countries

Radiation Protection Status in the GCC Countries
- General Radiation Protection
- Emergency and Accidents
- Environmental Impact and Monitoring
- Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal
- Radiation Sources Safety

Radioisotopes Applications
- Radioisotopes Applications in Oil Industry
- Radioisotopes Applications in Petrochemicals Industries
- Radioisotopes Applications in Hydrology
- Medical and Human Health Applications of Radioisotopes
- Other Applications

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DEFICIENCY IN HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

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5. (C) Dr. Aljohani said that the Department of Nuclear
Engineering at KAU has existed since 1977. The department,
which falls under the Faculty of Engineering, offers three
programs of specialization: Nuclear Engineering, Engineering
Medical Physics, and Engineering Radiation Protection. A
website for the Nuclear Engineering Department indicates that
it employs seventeen faculty members; however, Dr. Aljohani
said that there are only thirteen Nuclear Engineering faculty
members. He also said that there are currently only two
students pursuing a degree in Nuclear Engineering. He
recalled that in the past there was higher enrollment, but
that in recent years the department did not want to deceive
prospective students about post-graduate job opportunities in
Saudi Arabia in the field of nuclear engineering, and
therefore recruitment and enrollment in the program fell. He
said that most current job opportunities in the field of
nuclear engineering exist in the medical industry.


6. (C) Dr. Aljohani did not express an awareness of other
educational or training programs in the field of nuclear
engineering in Saudi Arabia. Also, he did not express an
awareness of cooperation between the Department of Nuclear
Engineering at King Abdulaziz University and the King
Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). (COMMENT:
There often appears to be a lack of coordination between
academic departments of the same field at different
institutions in Saudi Arabia. END COMMENT.) Dr. Aljohani did
say that his Department has in the past partnered with the
private sector, but that research projects have been somewhat
limited.

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PROFESSOR STUDYING ENERGY ECONOMICS
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7. (C) Dr. Aljohani is currently working on a study to
project when nuclear energy would be needed to replace energy
produced using fossil fuels. While he said that some studies
show that Saudi oil will be exhausted in seventy or eighty
years, he himself proposed that some models predict oil
supplies could be depleted in only thirty years. He believes
it is critical that Saudi Arabia invest in alternative
energies, both for electricity and for the production of
desalinated water.

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PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ENERGY COOPERATION
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8. (C) Dr. Aljohani acknowledged that the GCC countries,
including Saudi Arabia, currently lack the capacity to
develop a nuclear energy program. Contemplating a role for
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in providing
assistance in developing a Saudi nuclear energy program, he
said he does not believe that the IAEA is necessarily the
right partner for this job. He thinks that a large, and in
his opinion, bureaucratic, international organization will
not help to develop the best program for Saudi Arabia. He
feels that a better solution would be for Saudi to work
directly with another country to develop a nuclear energy
program.


9. (C) French President Sarkozy's proposals to cooperate with
Saudi Arabia in the development of a nuclear energy program,
made during his visit to Saudi in January 2008, did not
impress Dr. Aljohani. The Chairman of KAU's Nuclear
Engineering Department, who received his doctorate from
Georgia Tech, expressed a bias for partnering with the U.S.
on nuclear energy cooperation rather than other countries.
He supported his conviction that the U.S. would be the best
partner for Saudi Arabia in nuclear energy cooperation by
knowledgeably citing statistics about U.S. nuclear
engineering capabilities, the contribution of nuclear
technologies to U.S. GNP, and the U.S. share in the global
market for nuclear technology.


10. (C) Dr. Aljohani expressed an interest in having USG
officials speak at the November 2008 conference in Jeddah.
He said that ideally he would like to invite the head of the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to be the keynote
speaker, and that there remain a number of topics on the
agenda for which speakers have not been identified.

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11. (C) COMMENT: Mission believes this will be the first
GCC-wide seminar on nuclear energy since the GCC summit
statement on the subject. In light of that statement,
Bahrain's recent acceptance of a nuclear energy Memorandum of
Understanding with the U.S., and the UAE agreement to
purchase French reactors, this symposium is likely to have
considerably more substance than it would have even six month
ago. Mission believes that USG participation in the
symposium would be useful. END COMMENT.
TONEY