Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09JEDDAH274
2009-07-21 14:08:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jeddah
Cable title:  

MECCA GOVERNOR KHALID AL FAISAL ON PUBLIC

Tags:  PREL PHUM TPHY SCUL KPAO KISL SA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2588
RR RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHJI #0274/01 2021408
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 211408Z JUL 09 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1436
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8432
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0075
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000274 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, ECA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM TPHY SCUL KPAO KISL SA
SUBJECT: MECCA GOVERNOR KHALID AL FAISAL ON PUBLIC
HOUSING,EDUCATION AND THE SHURA COUNCIL -- "TOWARDS THE
FIRST WORLD"

REF: JEDDAH 0265

JEDDAH 00000274 001.12 OF 002


Classified By: CG Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000274

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, ECA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM TPHY SCUL KPAO KISL SA
SUBJECT: MECCA GOVERNOR KHALID AL FAISAL ON PUBLIC
HOUSING,EDUCATION AND THE SHURA COUNCIL -- "TOWARDS THE
FIRST WORLD"

REF: JEDDAH 0265

JEDDAH 00000274 001.12 OF 002


Classified By: CG Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In July 13 meeting with Charge, Governor of
Mecca Region, HRH Prince Khalid Al Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al
Saud, discussed the challenges of governing the Western
Province of Saudi Arabia, the launching of public housing
projects to eradicate Jeddah slums, the changes needed in the
public education system, and the expanding role of the Shura
Council. Positive on the theme of U.S.-Saudi cooperation, the
Governor lauded post for its "American ) Saudi Arabian
Culture and Commerce" festivals in Abha and Taif, welcomed
further cooperation and announced as an imperative the
Kingdom's goal of moving in the direction of the "First
World." END SUMMARY.

Public Housing for Non-citizen Residents
--------------


2. (SBU) In July 13 meeting with Charge (Ambassador Erdman),
Mecca Governor Khalid Al Faisal commented on the diversity in
the resident population of the greater Mecca region created
by non-Saudis migrating to the pilgrimage site to escape
conflict in their home countries as well as the familiar
phenomenon of Hajj and Umra visitors overstaying their visas.
According to the Governor, modern "asylum seekers" arrived
in the Kingdom in successive waves about 40)50 years ago.
Although accepted as residents by the SAG, most never
actually became Saudi citizens and are thus not legally
registered. The numbers of these non-Saudi residents have
grown to over a million. While basic facilities such as
water and electricity are available, strains on the Jeddah
infrastructure have led to slum living conditions for these
non-citizens.


3. (SBU) The Governor discussed the launching of new public
housing projects for this community as well as his personal
success in securing the King,s approval. In order to
address the problem of some 50 slum areas in Jeddah and over
60 in Mecca, the SAG is encouraging "joint ventures" between

the SAG and private sector companies in order to build public
housing areas which will include schools and hospitals,
renovated streets, vocational training centers, along with
career counseling and employment services. The development
committee, headed by the Governor, coordinates with the
Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Health and various
municipal offices, the primary goal being to legalize the
status of the non-citizen residents. Khalid Al Faisal said
the project would take upwards of 5 years.

Educational Changes
--------------

4.(SBU) Charge,s mention of the impressive undertaking at
the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST),north of Jeddah, prompted the Governor into a
discussion of the drastic changes needed in the Saudi public
education system and the severe challenges facing the new
Saudi Minister of Education, Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin
Mohammed (son-in-law of King Abdullah and widely regarded as
a progressive force for reform). Khalid affirmed King
Abdullah,s commitment to improving education by recent SAG
funding to implement educational upgrades. It was expensive
and difficult, he said, but investing in the Kingdom's human
capital was essential.


5. (SBU) Charge recalled his experiences in Algeria, where
extremists had spread their message via radical teachers
imported from Egypt and had used children to pressure parents
to become more observant. Khalid said they had experienced
precisely the same phenomenon in the Kingdom. "Extremist
ideology," he claimed, had been imported by expatriates,
mostly Egyptian, members of the Muslim Brotherhood fleeing
Nasser's Egypt. "Teachers are the key to change, not the
students themselves," and too many were not qualified. There
was a pressing need to raise overall qualifications among the
educational profession in Saudi Arabia. Another problem is
that academic texts used half a century ago during his school
days were very similar to those used today.

Shura Council
--------------


6. (SBU) The Governor commended the SAG selection process in
the shuffle in Shura Council membership earlier this year for

JEDDAH 00000274 002.2 OF 002


producing a diverse mix of highly-educated Saudis from
different tribes and various professions. Sketching the
historical evolution of the council from the days of King
Abdulaziz and noting the increasing number of younger
members, the Governor said that gradual expansion of the
Council,s role as a quasi-legislative body was not only
welcomed by the King but was part of his long-term plan for
modernizing the Kingdom.

"Towards the First World"
--------------


7. (C) Khalid Al Faisal summarized his goals for the Kingdom
in the slogan "Towards the First World," commenting wryly
that "we are completely fed up with the Third World." While
the trappings of modernity and progress have made their way
into Saudi Arabia, significant work remained to enable the
country to "accept, absorb and adopt" the impact of these
changes. The Governor lauded post for the Consulate,s
"American)Saudi Arabian Culture and Commerce" festivals in
Abha (2007) and Taif (2009). These events supported
international dialogue, he said, while acknowledging, with a
sense of pride, his personal role in proposing these projects.

8. (U) Ambassador Erdman has cleared this message.
QUINN