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DE RUEHNC #0986/01 3481357
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R 141357Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
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UNCLAS NICOSIA 000986 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SE AND IO/UNESCO (RCOROTIS) 
 
PARIS FOR US MISSION TO UNESCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON TSPL OSCI TNGD TPHY UNESCO CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: SESAME REGIONAL SCIENCE PROJECT -- STILL NOT QUITE 
OPEN YET BUT GETTING THERE 
 
REF: COROTIS-CAROUSO E-MAIL, NOVEMBER 16, 2007 
 
(U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please treat 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  On December 11 and 12, 2007, Cyprus hosted the 
Eleventh Meeting of the Council of the Synchrotron-light for 
Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME). 
Per Ref e-mail, Post ECON Officer and ECON Specialist attended the 
meeting to follow up on developments.  The main message that came 
out of the meeting was that SESAME is now past the "point of no 
return," meaning that with a purpose-built building, nine members, 
some key equipment sourced, and apparent momentum, the project will 
result in a full-scale experimental facility by the target date of 
¶2011.  Budget issues still loom large but the Council is hopeful to 
overcome them.  Although the project is not geared to be cutting 
edge from a technological point of view, the main expected benefits 
are to be found in closer regional cooperation in a troubled part of 
the world.  Background and highlights from the Cyprus meeting 
follow.  End Summary. 
 
SESAME Background 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Synchrotron radiation, emitted from particle accelerators, 
is used for a host of scientific experiments.  Put simply, 
scientists use synchrotron radiation in conjunction with "super 
microscopes" to better understand the nature and structure of 
materials.  SESAME is planned to focus on five scientific domains: 
physical science, biological and medical sciences, environmental 
sciences, industrial applications, and archaeology. 
 
¶3.  (U) SESAME came into existence as an intergovernmental 
organization on 15 April 2004 under the auspices of UNESCO. 
Current members of SESAME are Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, 
Jordan, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey and Iran 
(since August 2007).  Observer countries are France, Germany, 
Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Portugal, Russian Federation, Sweden, U.K. 
and the United States.  In addition Japan and the United Arab 
Emirates, deeply involved in the early stages of the project, are in 
the process of confirming their status in the Center. 
 
¶4.  (U) SESAME will provide the region of the Middle East with a 
world-class laboratory for basic research and numerous applications. 
 There are now more than 50 operating synchrotron sources around the 
world, but this will be the first in the Middle East and the 
Mediterranean. 
 
¶5.  (U) A used injection system donated by Germany (BESSY I 800 MeV 
injection system) is already in Jordan and will be installed in the 
new building soon.  The EU has provided USD 1 million to facilitate 
the purchase of equipment and installation of the injection system. 
 
Cyprus Meeting 
-------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) The main message that came out of the Cyprus meeting was 
that SESAME is now past the "point of no return."  Construction of 
the SESAME building (just the building, not the necessary equipment 
inside) is currently in its final stages and is scheduled for a 
"soft inauguration" either in July or November 2008.  The building 
is situated on land in Allan, Jordan donated by the Government of 
Jordan.  Construction costs were around USD 7 million. 
 
¶7.  (U) The main challenges lying ahead consist of: (a) raising USD 
15-30 million to procure the necessary scientific equipment; and (b) 
securing increased budget commitments from participating nations and 
 
other donors to cover the project's escalating operating expenses. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Regarding hardware, SESAME currently needs to raise about 
USD 15 million for the procurement of a new 2.5 GeV third generation 
storage ring with a circumference of 130 m, an emittance of 26 
nm-rad, and space for 12 insertion devices has been designed. 
Technical components of this ring (magnets, vacuum system, RF 
system, power supplies, etc.) are designed and ready to go out for 
bids.  Iran has offered to build the magnets.  SESAME is hoping that 
the EU will provide these funds although, to date, no such 
commitment has been secured (see below).  Further down the line, 
SESAME will have to raise another USD 15 million from sources in the 
United States for the necessary beam lines.  (Amy Flatten of the 
American Physical Society, who attended the Cyprus meeting, 
studiously avoided talking about money, although she noted that APS 
had decided to take a more active role in SESAME, and that the U.S. 
scientific community was strongly supportive of the project.) 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Regarding human resources, SESAME currently has 15 
employees, including a part time Director, a full time Technical 
Director, an Administrative Officer, and a part time Scientific 
Director.  The accelerator/technical staff includes 8 full time 
scientists and engineers from the Middle East, with plans to hire 
more over time.  A vigorous training program is already underway for 
accelerator scientists and engineers, beam line scientists, and 
users with funds from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the 
International Center for Theoretical Physics, the U.S. Department of 
Energy, and synchrotron radiation labs around the world that host 
SESAME visitors. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) SESAME's 2008 budget, approved at the Cyprus meeting, 
calls for total spending of USD 1.4 million.  Salaries and 
allowances for directors and staff make up 75 percent of this 
budget.  Based on current revenue projections, SESAME expects to 
incur a deficit of around USD 480,000 in 2008, a worrisome prospect 
indeed.  This means that without a commitment for additional 
spending by the parties, SESAME will run into serious financial 
problems in the near future.  Furthermore, once the lab becomes 
operational (2011), yearly spending is projected to rise to USD 4.0 
million. 
 
¶11.  (U) One of the Cypriot participants also gave an interesting 
overview of R&D spending in Cyprus.  Cypriot R&D spending has 
gradually increased from 0.18 percent of GDP in 1991 to 0.41 percent 
in 2005.  Even so, Cyprus remains a laggard in the EU in terms of 
R&D spending, ranking 17th out of 27 countries, so the GOC wants to 
raise this further.  However, the main problem with Cypriot R&D 
spending is that the bulk of it comes from the government -- only 20 
percent comes from the private sector.  This is attributed to weak 
links between academia and the private sector.  The GOC, through the 
Planning Bureau, is trying to change all this and encourage more 
active participation from the private sector. 
 
A Helping Hand from Cyprus 
-------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Cyprus is the only EU country member of SESAME.  Its 
partners in SESAME are investing much hope that Cyprus will help 
promote their quest for funds from the EU.  However, a Cypriot 
conference participant in the conference told us in private that the 
EU was unlikely to provide these funds out of its research budget, 
since the technology to be used is no longer cutting edge.  However, 
he was still hopeful that the EU might agree to fund this out of 
foreign assistance or foreign affairs funds given the symbolic 
importance of Israel, Iran and Arab nations in a cooperative 
venture. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) The same official also confided that SESAME had tried to 
get Cyprus interested in building the project on Cypriot soil. 
However, at the recommendation of the Planning Bureau, the GOC 
dismissed the idea as "too costly."  The official also made it clear 
that Cyprus did not intend to take the lead on SESAME, financially 
or otherwise.  Cyprus contributed just USD 62,500 to the project in 
2007 and should have no problem committing similar amounts in the 
future. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The last Users' Meeting, the sixth of its kind, in Jordan 
(November 17-19, 2007), attracted around 220 scientists, compared to 
only about 70 at the previous meeting.  About 100 of the scientists 
were from Jordan, and the remaining 120 from Egypt, France Germany, 
Israel, Iran, Japan, Pakistan, etc).  The strong participation in 
the Users' Meeting was good news for SESAME, in that it demonstrated 
real scientific interest in the project. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) However, financial issues still need to be sorted out. 
During the last Users' Meeting, a Cypriot proposal to divide funding 
obligations based on each country's economic size was greeted with 
skepticism.  Instead, the other participants suggested that member 
countries should contribute according to their GDP per capita, a 
suggestion dismissed outright by the Cypriot delegation.  In a 
nutshell, funding remains the biggest problem.  Several participants 
at the Cyprus conference privately expressed to us their 
exasperation at the fact that oil-rich countries in the region had 
so far not committed any funds. 
 
¶16.  (U) Cyprus can also help SESAME by serving as a computer hub. 
Cyprus already has modern telecommunications infrastructure, giving 
it unhindered broadband access to EU data processing and 
"super-computer" centers.  Cyprus has offered use of its 
infrastructure to help SESAME process the massive amounts of data 
generated, contingent on identifying the necessary funds to cover 
connectivity fees. 
 
¶17.  (U) Notably, Cyprus Planning Bureau Director Andreas Moleskis 
has been appointed Chairman of SESAME's Finance Committee.  His 
department is currently conducting a financial viability study for 
SESAME. 
 
Regional Cooperation Sometimes Can Only Go So Far . . . 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶18.  (SBU) SESAME promises to bring together scientists in a 
troubled part of the world.  Sometimes, though, this is easier said 
than done.  The Israeli representative to SESAME told us privately 
that, assuming that all practical issues were resolved and SESAME 
got off to a flying start in 2011, Israeli scientists in this field 
might still opt to continue using similar labs in Europe, instead of 
SEASAME in Jordan, due to security concerns.  The same 
representative told us that Israel, a leader in R&D in the region, 
did not find it cost effective to set up its own synchrotron lab, 
which is why the 50-or-so Israeli scientists in this field regularly 
visit labs in Europe.  Hard political realities on the ground may 
also lie behind the absence of the Turkish representative from the 
Cyprus meeting.  Even though the GOC had cleared all visa obstacles, 
the visit did not take place, reportedly "due to personal 
hindrances" of the Turkish delegate -- an excuse few believed in 
Cyprus. 
 
¶19.  (U) The next SESAME Council meeting has been scheduled to take 
place in Upsala, Sweden, June 9-10, 2008 and the following one in 
Jordan, in November 2008. 
 
¶20.  (SBU) Comment: SEASAME has gathered considerable momentum since 
its inception although funding issues still loom large.  At this 
 
juncture, funding commitments of the order of USD 15 million need to 
be made soon, if the project is to come on line in 2011 as planned. 
Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn-Smith has been nominated as 
President-elect for a five-year term at SESAME, to succeed incumbent 
President, Professor Herwig Schopper.  Sir Llewellyn-Smith brings 
considerable experience and connections to the table from such 
globally-acclaimed institutions as the European Organization for 
Nuclear Research (French: Organisation europenne pour la recherche 
nuclaire), commonly known as CERN.  Smith delivered a well-received 
speech at the Cyprus SESAME conference, reflecting his personal 
commitment and drive to put all his considerable experience behind 
this project -- certainly a good omen for SESAME. Whether the 
oft-repeated phrase that SESAME is "past the point of no return" in 
achieving a fully functioning experimental synchrotron or not will 
depend on whether donors and/or new members show up with funding 
soon. End Comment 
 
SCHLICHER