VZCZCXRO6532
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHRH #1677/01 3621457
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281457Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 4874
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 4373
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2130
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUMICEA/USCINCCENT INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001677 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, NEA/IPA 
JERUSALEM FOR DEPUTY ENVOY HALE 
DEPT ALSO FOR EEB/IFD/ODF (DEMARCELLUS, VAKIL); INR/NESA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2019 
TAGS: ECON EAID PREL KWBG GCC SA GZ
SUBJECT: IDB ADVISOR DISCUSSES AID TO GAZA 
 
REF: A. RIYADH 1455 
     ¶B. RIYADH 1300 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Lisa Carle for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request.  See paragraph 8. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶2. (C) The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), recently made 
responsible for overseeing the GCC's $1.6 billion in foreign 
assistance for the reconstruction of Gaza, is studying what 
projects are feasible, but has yet to start any of these 
projects.  IDB advisor is concerned about access issues and 
political uncertainty and says the U.S. could be doing more 
on these.  Advisor also offered to develop a system to track 
construction materials if it would assuage Israeli concerns 
about these materials being diverted.  End summary. 
 
No GCC funds spent yet 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) On December 19, Econoff met with El Mansour Feten, an 
advisor to the president of the Islamic Development Bank 
(IDB), at his Jeddah office to discuss the bank's oversight 
of the GCC states' $1.6 billion in reconstruction assistance 
for Gaza.  Feten said the IDB was studying what needs to be 
done in Gaza in conjunction with partner donor agencies and 
with IDB consultants in the field but stated that none of the 
aid has been disbursed as of yet.  He said that while the IDB 
is currently designing projects based on studies, it has no 
definite timetable for any of them. 
 
Border crossings, political uncertainty are key obstacles 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Feten emphasized that Gaza's "situation" needs to be 
clarified before the IDB can begin large-scale reconstruction 
projects.  Specifically, he identified a need to know whether 
border crossings into Gaza will be open (or if partially 
open, what materials would be allowed to cross).  He said the 
humanitarian situation should be dealt with separately from 
the political concern but said he realized certain aspects of 
the political process, such as Palestinian reconciliation, 
were inextricably tied to Gaza reconstruction. 
 
¶5. (C) Feten also said a key IDB priority was to ensure that 
reconstruction efforts were conducted in a transparent manner 
to prevent funds from being diverted.  He added that the IDB 
did this through regular audits and by working with 
"friendly" governments that are transparent in their efforts 
(no further info).  He said the IDB was politically neutral 
and that it worked with local authorities and municipalities 
to accomplish its mission.  (Note:  Feten said explicitly 
that the IDB will work with Hamas if it is the local 
authority, but he denied Hamas would have a role in the 
disbursement of IDB-provided reconstruction funds.  This role 
would be reserved for IDB contractors, partner NGOs, and the 
UNDP.  End note.) 
 
U.S. image suffering as Gaza remains in ruins 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Feten made a point of noting that the U.S. image 
continues to suffer throughout the region as reconstruction 
efforts in Gaza lag.  He noted that there is a popular 
perception that if the U.S. government wanted construction 
materials to get through border crossings, we would make it 
happen.  Interestingly, he suggested that if the Israeli 
government has concerns about the end-use of construction 
materials, the IDB would be willing to put in place a 
tracking system using indelible markings on the materials 
themselves that would allow for verification that materials 
were not diverted. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) The overall tone of the meeting with Feten was 
extremely positive.  He was effusive in his praise of 
 
RIYADH 00001677  002 OF 002 
 
 
President Obama's efforts in the region while still quick to 
emphasize that reconstruction assistance was not getting to 
those who need it most.  While for much of the meeting he 
spoke in general terms about big-picture issues, his staff 
appeared intensely focused on project-related specifics and 
expressed keen interest in strengthening lines of 
communication between the IDB and the USG.  End comment. 
 
Action request 
-------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Post requests Department guidance on following up with 
IDB offer to develop a tracking system to assist in clearing 
materials at the Gaza border.  Embassy Riyadh POC is Economic 
Officer Christopher Newton.  Jeddah POC is Political / 
Economic Officer Dominic So. 
SMITH