SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT OF PRESIDENTIAL SCIENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 000103 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR S/P BEHRMAN STATE FOR NEA/ARP, OES WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL KIPR EINV TSPL SENV SOCI SA SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT OF PRESIDENTIAL SCIENCE ENVOY ELIAS ZERHOUNI TO SAUDI ARABIA REF: 2009 STATE 71325 ¶1. (SBU) Mission Saudi Arabia enthusiastically welcomes your visit, planned for February 15-20, to Riyadh and Jeddah. You will arrive just after several prominent official visits, including Deputy Treasury Secretary Wolin and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Hormats, and just before the visit of Energy Secretary Chu. These visits highlight the importance both countries attach to deepening and broadening our bilateral relationship. The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia is dedicated to tearing down the figurative walls that both sides erected after 9/11 to build a new enduring strategic relationship. Your visit will help advance that agenda, which is intimately linked to the President's Cairo speech, by providing a clear example of our shared interests in expanding cooperation in areas of importance for the Saudis. Science as the Key to Development: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) As you are aware through your participation in the inauguration of the King Abudullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) last September, the King has sketched out an ambitious plan to transform Saudi Arabia's economy away from excessive reliance on hydrocarbons and towards a knowledge based economy that can provide sustainable development for the long-term. This requires nothing short of a revolution in the education system and significant changes in most aspects of Saudi society. Senior Saudi officials have been candid in stressing the importance they place on strong ties with the United States. They are looking to attract U.S. firms to invest in the Kingdom because our firms tend to invest for the long-term, bring the best technology, and commit to training local staff. Saudi officials are also very keen to expand educational ties to the U.S., including expanding a scholarship program that has already sent thousands of Saudi students to U.S. colleges and universities, many in scientific and technical fields. Your interlocutors will be interested in your assessment of areas for further partnership and growth in our relations. S&T Umbrella Agreement: - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) Science and technology has been one of the most productive areas in our bilateral relationship in the last several years. In December 2008, we signed an umbrella Science and Technology Agreement that outlined seven areas of interest. In May 2009, the two sides held a follow up meeting in Riyadh, and the first working group, on Space, met in Washington December 3-4. The Space Working Group identified several areas of cooperation between the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST, which is effectively the Saudi Science Ministry) and USG agencies, including USGS, NOAA, NASA, and DOE. Shortly after this meeting, NASA and KACST signed an agreement to include KACST as a participant in the Lunar Institute. Other working groups will soon meet, including Innovation and Energy. Saudi officials are eager to explore areas for cooperation in developing renewable energy, particularly solar and biomass, and for developing projects to capture and store carbon (CCS). Secretary Chu is likely to explore the potential for cooperation between Saudi institutions and DOE labs during his visit planned for February. Implementing Technology Advances: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) Saudi officials are seized with a sense of urgency about the need to develop the knowledge economy to meet the country's significant development needs. As a result, they tend to focus on practical results and look for projects that will lead to real world applications. For example, a prominent feature of KAUST's inauguration was its technology incubator, which has already attracted investments, including from Dow Chemical. KACST has also set up several Technology Implementation Centers (TICs) with companies, including a nanotechnology water desalination project and a nanotechnology research center with IBM. KACST plans to RIYADH 00000103 002 OF 003 create 15 more TICs over the next three years. This complements the Saudi Government's national development strategy, which aims to create clusters of new industries focused on Saudi Arabia's competitive advantages. Saudi Arabia has targeted the development of information technologies, as well as health sciences, among other fields. Health: - - - - ¶5. (SBU) We have enjoyed significant cooperation on health issues. CDC helped Saudi Arabia audit its preparations to protect the health of Hajj pilgrims. This led to a series of recommendations and a follow up visit by a seven-member CDC team to help ensure this year's Hajj was successful and did not contribute significantly to the H1N1 pandemic. The team also tested a pilot screening program that will significantly expand the speed and accuracy of information available to public health officials in terms of tracking the spread of infectious diseases. As this program rolls out, it will become a model for deployment in other countries. The Minister of Health is so pleased with the cooperation with CDC that he has asked to sign an MOU with HHS by May, which will expand cooperation into applied research (working with NIH) and provide assistance on Saudi Arabia's overhaul of its health care system. The U.S. FDA has been very helpful in standing up the Saudi FDA, which has sought to model itself on its U.S. counterpart. FDA teams have helped their Saudi counterparts adopt new measures for tracking and registering medical equipment. Saudi Arabia is also a strong partner in combating polio, working through the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the Islamic Development Bank. Saudi institutions have a number of partnerships with U.S. companies and universities in the health sector, including with the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard, as well as an active breast cancer initiative between King Fahad Medical City and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Saudi institutions are particularly interested in expanding cooperation in oncology and on public health issues. Your interlocutors will be particularly interested in any recommendations you might have for increasing training opportunities, particularly through scholarships, and expanding research collaboration. IPR: - - - ¶6. (SBU) The Saudi Government understands that an important part of creating a knowledge economy will be putting in place a strong regime to protect intellectual property rights (IPR). Saudi Arabia has made significant progress over the last several years in improving IPR protection, including upgrading its system to evaluate patent applications. U.S. agencies, including the Patent and Trademark Office, are offering training for Saudi officials to support further development, and the Embassy is working with companies to explore the potential for expanding the pharmaceutical industrial base in Saudi Arabia. Reinforcing the importance of strong patent protection for the development of Saudi knowledge sectors would help advance our agenda. Public Support for Science: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (SBU) The development of Science, Technology, and Health enjoys broad public support, as doctors and scientists are well respected within this society, and Saudis generally believe that developing a strong scientific base is important to the country's long-term development. That said, the level of general public discourse on science and technology is not particularly high. There is a growing awareness of the importance of a few environmental issues (mainly waste disposal and conservation),although cooperation on issues like climate change remains generally low. Saudi Arabia has been involved in climate change negotiations from the beginning, although it has not played as positive a role in the discussions as we would like. You may wish to consider ways to increase awareness of environmental issues in your public remarks. RIYADH 00000103 003 OF 003 Potential Meetings and Press Outreach: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) We strongly recommend that you consider meetings in both Jeddah and Riyadh. In Jeddah, besides meetings at KAUST, we would recommend you meet with King Abdul Aziz University to address their science colleges and to meet with published Saudi health expert Dr. Khalid Al-Madani; Shoura Council member and former director of the Jeddah S&T Center Mr. Mazen Balilah; and the Jeddah Science Innovation Club. ¶9. (SBU) In Riyadh, we would recommend you meet with KACST, which is the engine of Saudi science and technology policy. We would also recommend you meet with officials at the Ministry of Health to discuss expanding health research and training; the Saudi General Investment Authority (SAGIA) to discuss Saudi investment priorities in the S&T sector; the Presidency for Meteorology and the Environment (the Saudi EPA) to explore environmental cooperation; the Ministry of Petroleum to expand collaboration on clean energy technology research, development, and deployment; King Saud University to meet the next generation of Saudi scientists; and the Saudi FDA to learn about our robust food and drug safety collaboration. ¶10. (SBU) In addition to press coverage at public events potentially at KAUST or at Saudi universities, we can work with PAS to coordinate a webchat that may target a younger audience interested in science education. Further, we can use the Embassy Facebook page to reach both male and female students and young people interested in science. You may also wish to consider co-authoring an editorial with a high-level Saudi official, such as Minister of Health Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. An opinion-editorial targets a different audience -- the readership for editorials tends to skew towards the educated elite who have a strong interest in science. We believe a possible theme could be the May 2010 proposal to sign a HHS MOU to cooperate on research and health sector reform with the Ministry of Health. SMITH