LETTER ON TCA BETWEEN U.S. AND SAUDI MOI ON

UNCLAS STATE 070793 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG OPDC PGOV PREL SA SUBJECT: LETTER ON TCA BETWEEN U.S. AND SAUDI MOI ON CRITICAL IFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) Please deliver the following letter from U/S Bill Burns to the Saudi Assistant Minister for Security and Internal Affairs Prince Muhammad bin Nayif bin Abd al-Aziz Al-Saud. There will be no signed original. ¶2. (SBU) Begin text: Your Royal Highness: I have reviewed with interest the Technical Cooperation Agreement that calls for enhanced United States cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Interior. I am pleased that Secretary Rice and Saudi Arabia's Minister of Interior Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz were able to sign this agreement during the President's visit to Saudi Arabia in May. This agreement will allow us to open a new chapter in U.S.-Saudi relations, already long-established on a strong foundation. As you know, the Agreement calls for establishing a Joint Commission on Infrastructure and Border Protection that you and I are to co-chair. With your concurrence, I propose that we plan to meet in the fall in Saudi Arabia to co-chair the inaugural session of the Joint Commission and discuss ways that we can move forward on this ambitious and important undertaking, to the mutual benefit of both countries. Regarding the agenda for this meeting, I suggest that we review progress since the June signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement. Prior to our meeting, our teams should work on establishing the structure of this cooperative initiative, including an examination of the Joint Working Groups established according to the TCA. It would also be useful to examine anew the preliminary steps taken from 2006-2008, prior to the May 2008 signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement, by the Joint Working Group on Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection. My understanding is that this Joint Working Group has been charged with overseeing an important vulnerability assessment of the Saudi oil facility at Abqaiq and with other projects relating to contingency planning and training. I look forward to seeing you and your team in the fall and to discussing these issues in more detail over the coming months. Sincerely, William J. Burns End Text. RICE