VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRH #0161/01 0390329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080329Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2444
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 3054

UNCLAS RIYADH 000161 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, ISN/CTR, ISN/NESS, ISN/RA, AND EEB/ESC/IEC 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NRC(FREELAND) AND NNSA(VAN SICKLE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG KNNP PREL SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA CAUTIOUSLY CONSIDERING CIVIL NUCLEAR POWER 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: A U.S. interagency delegation briefed KACST VP Dr. 
Prince Turki bin Saud January 23 on possible areas of cooperation 
with the United States on civil nuclear power.  Prince Turki said 
KACST would issue a Request for Proposals in the next few months for 
a consulting firm to conduct an assessment of the feasibility of 
developing a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia.  End 
summary. 
 
SAG to Issue RFP "Soon" 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) A U.S. interagency delegation visited the King Abdulaziz 
City for Science and Technology (KACST) and briefed KACST VP for 
Research Institutes Dr. Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohamed Al Saud 
January 23 on possible areas of cooperation with the United States 
on civil nuclear power.  ISN/NESS Deputy Director Alex Burkart noted 
that President Obama has made clear that the United States supports 
the responsible deployment of nuclear power.  He emphasized that 
with the bilateral civil nuclear cooperation MOU in place (signed 
May 2008 and in effect since January 2009), there are many 
opportunities to cooperate but the USG is "frankly a little 
disappointed" that we have not been able to move further faster.  He 
said the U.S. group was here in part to find out more about Saudi 
goals and recent activities in the nuclear field.  Burkart concluded 
by stating there are numerous opportunities for cooperation between 
our governments, many of which could help Saudi Arabia decide how 
best to approach developing a civilian nuclear program, and noting 
that the U.S. delegation included experts from technical USG 
agencies who were prepared to brief on primary USG infrastructure 
development programs. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Prince Turki emphasized that Saudi Arabia recognized the 
importance of nuclear energy and that the Kingdom hoped to have 
civilian nuclear power reactors in the future.  However, the Saudi 
government still needed to study carefully all issues involved, 
especially related to environmental, human capital, and construction 
costs and requirements.  He said KACST plans to issue a Request for 
Proposals (RFP) in the next few months to consider economic and 
technical aspects related to the deployment of nuclear power, and 
U.S. private sector bids would be "certainly welcome."  He said 
Saudi Arabia was being careful not to "jump in too soon" to nuclear, 
and it was focused on building the required Saudi capacity to run 
such a program.  For example, Turki noted that KASCT had been in 
contact with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 
regarding nuclear training and research collaborations.  All Gulf 
countries are moving quickly in pursuit of nuclear power, and small 
countries (i.e., the UAE) are racing ahead, but Saudi Arabia needs a 
clear economic case for nuclear power to be demonstrated. 
Turki said the Kingdom should think before it acts, but "once the 
feasibility plan is complete, we will move forward."  This will be a 
government-wide decision, not just KACST. 
 
Independent Nuclear Regulators 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Mickey 
Freeland explained the U.S. nuclear regulatory model to the Prince. 
He said that the U.S. nuclear industry has benefited greatly from 
the NRC''s independence from other USG entities.  NRC is willing to 
help Saudi Arabia to develop its capabilities in this area and also 
could help KACST or other Saudi institutions participate in key 
international organizations.  He explained the structure of the NRC 
and that it earns 85-90% of its budget from fees.  Freeland said NRC 
also could help the Saudis develop capabilities regarding the 
control of radioactive materials.  He touted NRC's transparency and 
openness to the public, which helps NRC engage successfully with 
other institutions.  Prince Turki said he found the presentation 
"very useful," and asked about the size of the agency and where is 
sits relative to the President's office in the USG bureaucracy. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Prince Turki said KACST remains responsible for Saudi 
nuclear regulation at this stage.  Its atomic research institute 
spun off a regulatory authority, but this new institution still 
falls within KACST.  In a country like Saudi Arabia, the number of 
Saudis capable of serving effectively as nuclear regulators is 
small, he said, so it is a great challenge to maintain the necessary 
cadre of professional expertise.  Therefore, in his view, it is 
necessary to embed the Kingdom's nuclear regulatory authority within 
a larger institution.  Freeland said the U.S. understood that logic, 
and recognized that other nuclear regulatory frameworks (e.g., 
French and Chinese) also have merit. 
 
Possible training and cooperation 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Matt Van Sickle from the International Safeguards and 
Engagement Program (INSEP), National Nuclear Security Administration 
(NNSA), discussed training and workshops that Saudi Arabia could 
join.  He noted that the Kingdom had sent a participant to a nuclear 
safeguards course organized by Sandia in May.  Van Sickle also 
briefed the Prince on a variety of upcoming regional training 
opportunities.  (Note: Saudi Arabia did not send representatives to 
the 2009 Middle East Infrastructure Preparedness Workshop and sent 
one participant to the 2009 Technical Training on International 
Safeguards.  End Note.)  ISN/CTR AAAS Fellow Ben Brodsky described 
the Partnership for Nuclear Security (PNS), a Department of State 
program focused on engaging nuclear experts in emerging countries 
through a number of activities.  Brodsky and Van Sickle noted that 
both INSEP and PNS provide opportunities in nuclear fields outside 
of power generation.  ISN/NESS's Marc Humphrey provided a briefing 
on the Infrastructure Development Working Group of the Global 
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). 
 
¶7. (SBU) Burkart said there are many additional training 
opportunities that also could benefit KACST and Saudi Arabia.  For 
example, the USG also spends money training foreign experts through 
the IAEA.  We are facilitating a program to allow Jordanian 
undergraduate students to train remotely on a research reactor at 
North Carolina State University via the internet and video 
conferencing.  This program is much cheaper than the typical cost of 
building a research reactor.  Prince Turki expressed particular 
interest in the "internet reactor" program.  Burkart therefore 
encouraged Saudi Arabia to send a representative to a IAEA-sponsored 
conference on human resource development, to be held in Abu Dhabi in 
March, where this concept would be presented in greater detail. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU)Post very much appreciates the time the interagency team 
took to meet with the KACST officials and explain areas of potential 
cooperation.  Prince Turki's comments confirm that there is still an 
active debate within the Saudi Government about whether, and how, to 
develop a civilian nuclear program.  While a number of Saudi 
officials are persuaded they need to pursue options like nuclear 
power to address rapidly expanding energy demand, they are also 
aware of the challenges involved in ensuring that such a program 
would meet its international safety and security obligations.  In 
that regard, the interagency trip was well timed and very helpful in 
explaining potential assistance the USG could offer Saudi Arabia as 
it thinks through this issue.  We also take careful note of Prince 
Turki's news that Saudi Arabia will "soon" issue an RFP for a 
consultant to produce a thorough assessment of what it would require 
as a welcome serious step forward. 
 
Smith