US embassy cable - 03AMMAN4807

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 004807 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR IO/T ZWEIBEN AND BOOTH, NEA/RA LAWSON, STAS 
NEUREITER 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP MARBURGER AND OLSEN 
PARIS FOR UNESCO OBSERVER AGGELER 
VIENNA FOR GOLDMAN 
 
E.O.  12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPL, TPHY, TBIO, KSCA, EAID, SENV, JO, MEPN 
SUBJECT:  SESAME-SOWING THE SEEDS OF REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC 
COOPERATION? 
 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The Second SESAME (Synchrotron-Light for 
Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) 
Council meeting, hosted in Istanbul in mid-July, yielded a 
productive discussion among the regional members on key 
issues such as upgrading of the synchrotron machine, future 
scientific programs, training, and finance/administration. 
Both Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates officially joined 
SESAME since the last meeting in January, increasing 
membership to nine but doing little to raise more funds-a 
recurring and troublesome stumbling block to SESAME's future 
development.  Discussion of Libya's request for observer 
status was postponed to accommodate the U.S., though not 
publicly stated thus.  Israeli participation in SESAME, 
while generally accepted, still acts as a lightning rod for 
heated discussion.  EU funding still has not been secured, 
but SESAME leadership remains hopeful that $10-15 million 
may be forthcoming.  SESAME and UNESCO are entertaining the 
idea of a Washington roadshow/doorknock to "market" the 
project and drum up U.S. financial support.  Finally, on a 
separate but related matter, UNESCO Director Nalecz confided 
to us that UNESCO had been blindsided by the return of the 
U.S. to the organization and had mishandled the consultation 
process with Washington about future U.S. contributions to 
UNESCO.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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A NEW MIDDLE EAST RIPE FOR SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
2. (SBU) July witnessed the Second SESAME Council meeting, 
an event that was arguably more productive than previous 
gatherings because of the concrete status reports and plans 
of action delivered by committee chairmen on the project's 
scientific, technical, financial, administrative, and 
training components.  SESAME Chairman, Herwig Schopper, 
delivered an upbeat opening statement, welcoming new members 
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates and charging the 
member countries to make SESAME a reality and "not just a 
virtual laboratory."  "The new political situation in the 
Middle East region offers SESAME new opportunities to 
promote science and encourage regional cooperation," he 
announced.  On the margins, there was talk of inviting the 
Iraqis to join, once a government was in place. 
 
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EXPANDING THE CIRCLE 
-------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) The U.S. received a special acknowledgement for 
moving quickly to become SESAME's first official observer. 
SESAME is awaiting official membership decisions from 
Morocco and Greece, both formerly on the Interim Council, 
and will approach Muscat about Omani membership.  The 
current official members are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, 
Jordan, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Turkey, and the 
United Arab Emirates. 
 
4. (SBU) Schopper described Libya's request to become an 
observer of SESAME as a "delicate point" for some countries 
and moved to postpone any discussion until all had a chance 
to consult with their respective governments.  On the 
margins of the meeting, Schopper confided to NEA Regional 
Environment Officer that he had deferred any decision on 
Libya as a gesture to Washington, but asked that the State 
Department determine its position on this by the next 
council meeting in December.  The Israeli delegation told us 
separately that their government had no objections to Libya 
becoming a SESAME observer. 
 
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BRICKS AND MORTAR . . . . . AND MONEY 
------------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) Thanking the Jordanian government for completing 
the contracting on the construction of the facility, 
Schopper shared his hope that a tangible symbol of the 
project would help to propel SESAME forward.  Nevertheless, 
he underscored the need to make the project operational by 
securing funding for the upgrade of the synchrotron light 
machine and the beamlines, as well as recruiting and 
training staff.  Schopper appealed to the member states to 
convince their governments, politicians, and publics that 
SESAME is a project worthy of support.  "I don't think that 
an annual $50,000 contribution will suffice-each member 
state should expect an increase in annual contributions," 
Schopper warned at the outset, underscoring SESAME's 
greatest challenge. 
 
6. (SBU) The EU remains uncommitted to funding SESAME and 
the EU 2004 budget reportedly has already been allocated 
elsewhere, but Schopper remains hopeful.  Because the SESAME 
facility is physically located in Jordan, it was decided 
that Amman should raise the issue of EU funding in its 
bilateral consultations with Brussels.  Jordanian Education 
Minister Toukan confirmed that his government is already in 
close contact with the EU about SESAME.  While "things are 
looking positive, no decisions have been made" and Jordan 
will continue its lobbying efforts, Toukan added. 
 
7. (SBU) Herman Winick of Stanford University remarked that 
a positive EU evaluation might influence any future U.S. 
decision to support SESAME.  Winick added that he continues 
to work on the export licensing requirements and 
transportation options with DOE and DOC for the excess 
dismantled equipment from his lab.  He reported for the 
first time that other U.S. labs and facilities would have 
the first right of refusal to Stanford's decommissioned 
light machine.  Schopper reported that the technical 
committee had redesigned the machine to upgrade the power 
from 2GeV to 2.5GeV, as recommended by an EU evaluation 
team-a move designed to curry favor with Brussels. 
 
8. (SBU) The beamlines committee report concluded that, in 
addition to the approximately $12-15 million needed for 
upgrading the machine, beamlines were also likely to 
increase the development costs of SESAME.  The chairman 
estimated that three beamlines would require about $16.5 
million, while five beamlines would require upwards of $20 
million.  The French observer reiterated his offer from 
January that beamlines may be available from a light source 
being dismantled in France in the December 2003 timeframe. 
 
---------------------- 
CART BEFORE THE HORSE? 
---------------------- 
 
9. (SBU) On a positive (but possibly premature) note, the 
scientific committee reported that it had already received 
about 50 excellent scientific proposals requiring use of the 
SESAME machine.  These were in myriad scientific, medical, 
environmental, and archaeological fields.  According to the 
chairwoman, it was a "promising start for the users 
community." 
 
10. (SBU) On training and capacity building, the respective 
committee raised the recurring problem of training regional 
scientists who later migrate to other institutions because 
SESAME is not yet up and running.  Schopper encouraged 
member states to become more aggressive in pursuing training 
opportunities.  For example, money provided by IAEA for 
training remains unused and a Brazilian offer to train three 
scientists has only elicited a sole nominee from Jordan to 
date. 
 
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REGIONAL HOT SHOTS; REGIONAL POT SHOTS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
11. (SBU)  One of two political flaps that transpired during 
the SESAME meeting was over the location of the next 
training session.  In what could be described as either an 
unintentional shortsighted blunder or a deliberate attempt 
to isolate a member country, the training committee, chaired 
by a scientist from Iran, recommended Isfahan, Iran.  The 
Egyptians quickly supported the suggestion; however, the 
Israeli delegation protested, citing their inability to 
travel to Iran.  After a brief and somewhat heated 
discussion, it was agreed that the Israelis would attempt to 
apply for Iranian visas, since SESAME fell under a UNESCO 
umbrella which may provide some cover, with the 
understanding that if not issued another site would be 
identified for the training. 
 
12. (SBU) The second contentious issue was a pointed comment 
by the Palestinian delegation about its good track record in 
meeting financial contribution requirements while their 
Israeli neighbors have thus far not ante-ed up.  The 
Palestinians were quick to point out that they had complied 
under difficult political and economic circumstances and 
questioned more broadly why other member states were 
delinquent.  The charge didn't seem to resonate, as many of 
the participating countries are guilty of not contributing 
their $50,000 annual dues. 
 
------------------------------------- 
ON THE ROAD . . . . .WITH HAT IN HAND 
------------------------------------- 
 
13. (SBU) Financing remains a major sticking point for 
SESAME.  The 2003 budget is only about $350,000 but seems 
sufficient for what the project is doing at the moment.  On 
the topic of getting donor support for SESAME, Director of 
UNESCO's Division of Basic and Engineering Sciences Maciej 
Nalecz (with broad support from the member countries) 
suggested that he and Schopper do a "road show" to 
Washington to pitch SESAME to U.S. policymakers with an eye 
toward getting an earmark from expected U.S. UNESCO funds. 
Possible appointments include the Secretary's Science and 
Technology Adviser Dr. Norm Neureiter and OSTP Director Dr. 
John Marburger.  According to Nalecz, Dr. Marburger visited 
UNESCO in April, at which time he was briefed on SESAME and 
expressed interest.  Nalecz also met with Dr. Kathy Olsen, 
Associate Director for Science at OSTP in late June to 
discuss U.S. re-entry into UNESCO.  According to him, Olsen 
indicated that Washington was looking to fund the 
International Oceanographic Commission and satellite 
monitoring of climate change.  Nalecz requested SESAME also 
receive priority attention. 
 
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UNESCO OFF BALANCE 
------------------ 
 
14. (SBU)  On the separate but related subject of the return 
of the U.S. to UNESCO, Nalecz separately shared with us some 
thoughts and concerns.  He said that UNESCO was "caught off 
guard" by the U.S. announcement last fall by the President 
at the UNGA.  Since then, he admitted, UNESCO has not done a 
good job of consulting with Washington about future U.S. 
contributions.  He said that UNESCO officials assumed that 
the U.S. contributions would expand the current UNESCO 
budget; however, he has since learned that Washington plans 
to contribute its UN dues formula as a percentage of the 
current UNESCO budget.  Effectively, there will be no 
increase in UNESCO funding, just a reapportionment of 
contributions.  Nalecz said the UK has the most to benefit 
from the return of the U.S. to UNESCO, as its financial 
burden will drop the most significantly.  Other countries 
will also benefit, as their contributions will also drop in 
real terms.  He wryly said that Washington had gained 
positive public relations for returning to the organization, 
but not increasing the UNESCO budget.  Moreover, he thought 
this approach would likely have the full backing of the 
poorer nations, as their contributions would be reduced. 
Finally, Nalecz lamented the fact that UNESCO would 
effectively face a nearly $100 million shortfall--the $67 
million expected from the U.S. (over the next two years) 
would not be supplementing the current UNESCO budget, and 
the approximately $30 million extra budgetary funds from 
Washington--for which he was very grateful--even when it 
wasn't a UNESCO member he expected to go away. 
 
GNEHM