VZCZCXRO8779
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHJI #0179/01 1171345
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 261345Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0676
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 7848
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY 0005

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN, DEPT PASS TO NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2018 
TAGS: ENRG EPET PGOV PREL PINR PARM TNGD TRGY KCIP
KNNP, SA 
SUBJECT: JEDDAH TO HOST NUCLEAR ENERGY SYMPOSIUM 
 
Classified By: Acting Consul General CB Toney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Department of Nuclear Engineering at King 
Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah is planning to host the 
"International Symposium on the Peaceful Applications of 
Nuclear Technology in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 
Countries" in November 2008.  In a discussion with the 
Chairman of KAU's Nuclear Engineering Department, he revealed 
that his program has very few students preparing to work in 
the field of nuclear energy.  He believes it is critical that 
Saudi Arabia invest in alternative energies in anticipation 
of depleted fossil fuel resources.  Acknowledging that the 
GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, currently lack the 
capacity to develop a nuclear energy program, he shared his 
personal bias for a Saudi partnership with the U.S. on 
nuclear energy cooperation.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
SYMPOSIUM ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY IN GCC COUNTRIES 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. (C) Pol/Econ Offs met April 1 with Dr. Mohammed S. 
Aljohani, a professor and Chairman of the Department of 
Nuclear Engineering at KAU in Jeddah.  The University was 
scheduled to hold the "International Symposium on the 
Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Technology in the GCC 
Countries" April 14-16, but the event has been postponed 
until November 3, 2008. 
 
¶3. (U) The symposium is being planned in response to the 
resolution of the 16th meeting of the GCC committee of the 
presidents of universities and higher education institutions 
in GCC countries.  The resolution was to activate the 
declaration of the closing statement of the GCC leaders in 
their 27th Summit held in Riyadh, December 2006 that 
announced the intention to pursue application of nuclear 
technology for peaceful purposes and the establishment of a 
joint plan in this regard.  The GCC leaders commissioned a 
study to set up a common purpose in the area of nuclear 
energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with international 
standards and systems.  This common nuclear related activity 
will abide by international treaties and be subject to 
verification inspections. 
 
¶4. (U) The symposium will cover the following topics: 
 
Strategic Planning for Introducing Nuclear Technology in the 
GCC Countries 
- Education and Manpower Development 
- Nuclear Regulations and Legislation 
- Nuclear Technology Transfer 
- Strategic Planning for Nuclear Research Reactors Program 
- Strategic Planning for Nuclear Power Generation Programs 
 
Nuclear Power 
- Future of Nuclear Power Worldwide 
- Experience of Developing Countries 
- Nuclear Desalination 
- Future Needs of the GCC Countries 
- Nuclear Reactors Safety 
 
Nuclear Research Reactors 
- International Experience of Research Reactors 
- Utilization of Research Reactors 
- Current and Future Needs of the GCC Countries 
- Experience of Developing Countries 
 
Radiation Protection Status in the GCC Countries 
- General Radiation Protection 
- Emergency and Accidents 
- Environmental Impact and Monitoring 
- Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal 
- Radiation Sources Safety 
 
Radioisotopes Applications 
- Radioisotopes Applications in Oil Industry 
- Radioisotopes Applications in Petrochemicals Industries 
- Radioisotopes Applications in Hydrology 
- Medical and Human Health Applications of Radioisotopes 
- Other Applications 
 
------------------------------------- 
DEFICIENCY IN HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING 
 
JEDDAH 00000179  002 OF 003 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Dr. Aljohani said that the Department of Nuclear 
Engineering at KAU has existed since 1977.  The department, 
which falls under the Faculty of Engineering, offers three 
programs of specialization: Nuclear Engineering, Engineering 
Medical Physics, and Engineering Radiation Protection.  A 
website for the Nuclear Engineering Department indicates that 
it employs seventeen faculty members; however, Dr. Aljohani 
said that there are only thirteen Nuclear Engineering faculty 
members.  He also said that there are currently only two 
students pursuing a degree in Nuclear Engineering.  He 
recalled that in the past there was higher enrollment, but 
that in recent years the department did not want to deceive 
prospective students about post-graduate job opportunities in 
Saudi Arabia in the field of nuclear engineering, and 
therefore recruitment and enrollment in the program fell.  He 
said that most current job opportunities in the field of 
nuclear engineering exist in the medical industry. 
 
¶6. (C) Dr. Aljohani did not express an awareness of other 
educational or training programs in the field of nuclear 
engineering in Saudi Arabia.  Also, he did not express an 
awareness of cooperation between the Department of Nuclear 
Engineering at King Abdulaziz University and the King 
Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). (COMMENT: 
There often appears to be a lack of coordination between 
academic departments of the same field at different 
institutions in Saudi Arabia. END COMMENT.)  Dr. Aljohani did 
say that his Department has in the past partnered with the 
private sector, but that research projects have been somewhat 
limited. 
 
----------------------------------- 
PROFESSOR STUDYING ENERGY ECONOMICS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Dr. Aljohani is currently working on a study to 
project when nuclear energy would be needed to replace energy 
produced using fossil fuels.  While he said that some studies 
show that Saudi oil will be exhausted in seventy or eighty 
years, he himself proposed that some models predict oil 
supplies could be depleted in only thirty years.  He believes 
it is critical that Saudi Arabia invest in alternative 
energies, both for electricity and for the production of 
desalinated water. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ENERGY COOPERATION 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶8. (C) Dr. Aljohani acknowledged that the GCC countries, 
including Saudi Arabia, currently lack the capacity to 
develop a nuclear energy program.  Contemplating a role for 
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in providing 
assistance in developing a Saudi nuclear energy program, he 
said he does not believe that the IAEA is necessarily the 
right partner for this job.  He thinks that a large, and in 
his opinion, bureaucratic, international organization will 
not help to develop the best program for Saudi Arabia.  He 
feels that a better solution would be for Saudi to work 
directly with another country to develop a nuclear energy 
program. 
 
¶9. (C) French President Sarkozy's proposals to cooperate with 
Saudi Arabia in the development of a nuclear energy program, 
made during his visit to Saudi in January 2008, did not 
impress Dr. Aljohani.  The Chairman of KAU's Nuclear 
Engineering Department, who received his doctorate from 
Georgia Tech, expressed a bias for partnering with the U.S. 
on nuclear energy cooperation rather than other countries. 
He supported his conviction that the U.S. would be the best 
partner for Saudi Arabia in nuclear energy cooperation by 
knowledgeably citing statistics about U.S. nuclear 
engineering capabilities, the contribution of nuclear 
technologies to U.S. GNP, and the U.S. share in the global 
market for nuclear technology. 
 
¶10. (C) Dr. Aljohani expressed an interest in having USG 
officials speak at the November 2008 conference in Jeddah. 
He said that ideally he would like to invite the head of the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to be the keynote 
speaker, and that there remain a number of topics on the 
agenda for which speakers have not been identified. 
 
JEDDAH 00000179  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (C) COMMENT: Mission believes this will be the first 
GCC-wide seminar on nuclear energy since the GCC summit 
statement on the subject.  In light of that statement, 
Bahrain's recent acceptance of a nuclear energy Memorandum of 
Understanding with the U.S., and the UAE agreement to 
purchase French reactors, this symposium is likely to have 
considerably more substance than it would have even six month 
ago.  Mission believes that USG participation in the 
symposium would be useful. END COMMENT. 
TONEY