VZCZCXRO6684
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHRH #0451/01 0820613
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230613Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0408
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000451 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND EEB 
PLEASE PASS TO USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ETRD ECON KIPR SA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADORS MEETING WITH SAUDI MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND 
INDUSTRY ALIREZA 
 
REF: SCHWEDT-BUNTIN 3/22 EMAILS 
     SECSTATE 15433 
     RIYADH 311 
     RIYADH 226 
     08 RIYADH 1676 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph six. 
 
Key points 
---------- 
 
-- (U) Minister of Commerce and Industry Alireza said he plans to be 
in the United States for a week beginning April 23, and he requested 
meetings with U.S. officials. 
 
-- (SBU) The Minister committed to asking the King to allow 
independent third-party auditors to scan SAG computer networks for 
illegally installed software.  Previously, only his ministry agreed 
to do so, and only in principle. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The U.S. has a long history of lending our expertise to 
Saudi Arabia on economic matters (such as JECOR, the Joint Economic 
Commission Office of Riyadh, from 1975 to 2000), and considering 
that the modernization of this country very much remains an 
important U.S. goal, we request that senior USG officials receive 
the Minister during his upcoming visit.  Alireza clearly wants to 
increase the country's pace of economic reform, and we have an 
opportunity to help steer Saudi government economic policy in 
directions that benefit both our countries that we should not 
refuse.  Certainly, as the only Arab member of the G-20, it is in 
the USG interest to cultivate Saudi interest in following our lead 
on economic issues. 
 
¶3. (SBU) We plan to provide guidance to the Minister in consultation 
with USTR (ref A) on the proposed third-party audit of SAG computer 
systems that he can pass to the King.  It is prudent to be skeptical 
that other ministries would agree to this easily; however, his 
commitment marks a real step forward for our efforts to ensure SAG 
computers are not using unlicensed software, and if the King were to 
issue an edict ordering this, that would give us much stronger 
leverage in our ongoing discussions with other ministries on this 
issue. 
 
Progress on audit of SAG computers 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador and DCM met Saudi Minister of Commerce and 
Industry Alireza March 21 to discuss how to follow up on the March 
2-6 bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement(TIFA) council 
meeting, particularly the Commerce Ministry's commitment to allow a 
third-party auditor to determine how much software on its computers 
was licensed (versus installed illegally).  The Minister said he 
would go further than that and ask King Abdullah to issue an edict 
ordering all ministries to allow their systems to be audited.  The 
DCM told the Minister that the Embassy would provide suggested 
language that could be used in an edict, which the Minister agreed 
to review. 
 
Minister's travel to Washington 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Alireza reiterated his interest in traveling to Washington 
in the near future.  He told the Ambassador he planned to give a 
speech in Washington April 27, and he hoped to travel to the United 
States on April 23.  He requested Embassy assistance arranging 
meetings with USG officials during that time frame, particularly 
senior officials in the Departments of State and Commerce, USTR, and 
the heads of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. 
Alireza emphasized that he had been tasked by the King to improve 
the SAG consumer protection capabilities and to encourage the 
development of small businesses in the context of the country's 
industrialization (i.e., development) plan, and he said he both 
wanted and needed U.S. help. 
 
Action request 
-------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Post understands most of the USG officials Alireza wants to 
meet have not been, or will just have been, confirmed; however, we 
request the Department consider his request favorably and creatively 
to help facilitate his meeting requests with senior USG officials. 
Even if the heads of agencies he wants to meet will be unavailable, 
there might be other options that we have not thought to suggest to 
 
RIYADH 00000451  002 OF 002 
 
 
the Minister. 
 
FRAKER