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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 081030Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
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INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8666
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0215
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, EEB, R 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KFLU KISL KWBG SA
SUBJECT: CATCHING UP WITH "THE FIRST WORLD": MECCA GOVERNOR 
KHALID AL FAISAL ON HAJJ, JEDDAH FLOOD, MECCA DEVELOPMENT, 
PALESTINIANS, KAUST AND KING ABDULLAH'S VISION 
 
REF: A. 09 JEDDAH 274 
     ¶B. 09 JEDDAH 466 
     ¶C. 09 JEDDAH 488 AND PREVIOUS 
 
JEDDAH 00000010  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4(b) and (d 
) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In December 27 meeting with Ambassador, 
Governor of Mecca Region, HRH Prince Khalid Al Faisal bin 
Abdulaziz Al Saud (ref A), expressed his satisfaction with 
Hajj 2009 (ref B), which was not disrupted by the feared 
outbreak of H1N1 or significantly affected by the November 25 
flash flood in Jeddah (ref C).  The Governor recalled his 
efforts to develop internal tourism in the Asir region -- his 
previous governorship -- including a 20-year struggle to 
found a national park and outlined plans to expand Mecca's 
Holy Mosque and to construct a rail system to transport 
pilgrims.  Prince Khalid urged the U.S. to solve the 
Palestinian problem and reiterated his previously expressed 
desire to see Saudi Arabia strive to catch up with "the First 
World."  End summary. 
 
HAJJ 2009 SUCCESSFUL DESPITE JEDDAH FLOOD 
¶2. (C) Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Governor of the Mecca Region 
and Chairman of the Hajj Central Committee, receiving the 
Ambassador's congratulations on the Hajj and condolences on 
the flood victims, reflected on the success of the 2009 Hajj, 
over which the threat of an H1N1 outbreak loomed.  His 
greatest concern during the pilgrimage was the rare and 
devastating rainstorm that moved through the Western Province 
of the Kingdom on November 25, the first day of Hajj.  Prince 
Khalid said he had feared the downpour would cause massive 
flooding in the tent city of Mina, where millions of pilgrims 
reside during the Hajj.  Fortunately, the dams put in place 
to protect the holy city contained the excess water and no 
pilgrims were injured on account of the rain.  Some thirty 
years ago, the prince recalled, a flash flood had actually 
inundated the area immediately surrounding the Kaaba. 
¶3. (C) As for the city of Jeddah, which was hit by 
catastrophic floods, the Governor acknowledged he had not 
expected such a disaster.  Many of the hardest-hit buildings 
were in vulnerable valleys, natural wadis (dry river beds), 
in which construction, he acknowledged, should not have 
occurred or been permitted in the first place.  Prince Khalid 
observed, with a tone of regret, that the city of Jeddah is 
expanding so rapidly that it has been impossible for the 
infrastructure to keep pace with the new and uncontrolled 
construction. 
¶4. (C) Responding to Ambassador's comment about the large 
number of young Saudis who, in an entirely unprecedented way, 
had volunteered to help flood victims, Prince Khalid said 
that many of the young people in Jeddah carry a deep sense of 
social responsibility and indicated how pleased he was by 
this development: "Even the girls are out helping."  The 
prince noted that he planned to hold a reception to honor the 
young volunteers in the coming weeks.  The Ambassador 
reminded the Governor that the United States stood ready to 
offer expert assistance and consultation the flood and 
drainage issues if the SAG requested help. 
 
MECCA DEVELOPMENT: MOSQUE EXPANSION AND MONORAIL, BUT NO MORE 
PILGRIMS 
¶5. (U) The Governor presented satellite images of Mecca as he 
reviewed the holy city's ten-year development plan, which 
includes massive expansion of the Mosque and monorail trains 
to transport pilgrims and connect Riyadh and Mecca.  When 
asked if the development would allow for even more pilgrims, 
the Governor quickly responded negatively, stating his 
conviction that the SAG had reached the maximum practical 
limit with 3 million worshippers visiting to perform Hajj 
every year and that the country was already imposing strict 
limits on the number of times that Saudi nationals themselves 
could perform Hajj. (Note: the number of Hajj pilgrims 
visiting Saudi Arabia in 1968, according to available data, 
was 300,000.  Thus, the current level represents a 10-fold 
increase in pilgrims in just over 40 years.  End note.) 
 
STRUGGLE TO DEVELOP TOURISM IN ASIR: 20 YEARS FOR A NATIONAL 
PARK 
¶6. (C) Responding to Ambassador's request to compare his 
current post as Governor of Mecca with his previous 
governorship of the Asir Region, Prince Khalid said that both 
areas have their distinct merits.  He noted that there is 
real growth in Asir and that many Asir residents who leave 
for other areas of the Kingdom, for education or work, soon 
 
JEDDAH 00000010  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
return home.  During his three-decade period as Asir 
governor, Prince Khalid said he had aimed to transform the 
area into a destination for local tourists.   He recalled how 
he had worked with local and with American experts to create 
a national park near the regional capital Abha.  Prince 
Khalid wrily noted that although the park cost only SR 40 
million ($10.6 million) to construct, it took him well over 
20 years to make this dream a reality.  Ambassador stated 
that he hoped trade and tourism would eventually mature in 
the Kingdom to the extent that Americans would be able to 
travel here freely and easily and thus learn as much about 
Saudi Arabia as Saudis know about the United States. 
 
SOLVING THE PALESTINIAN PROBLEM 
¶7. (C) Turning to international issues, Prince Khalid told 
the Ambassador that the U.S. could help Saudi Arabia by 
"solving the Palestinian problem."  Ambassador assured the 
Governor that President Obama is deeply committed to the 
Middle East issue and had identified it as the second major 
source of regional tension in his June 4 Cairo speech. 
 
CATCHING UP WITH "THE FIRST WORLD" 
¶8. (C) Concluding the meeting, the Governor expressed his 
oft-stated hope for greater progress and modernization in 
Saudi Arabia, saying that he fervently wanted to see the 
Kingdom exert in order to catch up with "the First World." 
In this context, the prince described three major periods in 
Saudi Arabian history:  (1) the King Saud era in which the 
nation was established and unified, (2) the King Faisal era 
during which the nation was built up structurally, and 
finally (3) the current era in which King Abdullah is working 
to usher in rapid technological and social change throughout 
the Kingdom.  Posing an open-ended, rhetorical question, 
Prince Khalid cited KAUST (King Abdullah University of 
Science and Technology, north of Jeddah) as the leading 
example of King Abdullah's vision of the country's future: 
"With the establishment of KAUST, the First World is already 
coming to us.  So what are we going to do?" 
 
¶9. (U)  Ambassador Smith has cleared this message. 
QUINN