Assistant Secretary C. David Welch has served as the head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the U.S. State Department since March 2005, following about three and a half years as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt.  His Foreign Service career has included numerous postings in the field (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Pakistan) and in Washington (Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau he now heads, desk officer for Syria and Lebanon, staff member at the National Security Council and Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs) that have prepared him well for his present job -- overseeing US foreign policy and diplomatic relations in 18 countries stretching from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula.

Last week SUSRIS talked with Mr. Welch about the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and the challenges that confront them in his office at the State Department.  From his current perspective as the top American diplomat focused exclusively on the region and with his background as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Kingdom, including two years as Charges d'Affaires, he provided a rare insight into issues facing the countries.  We are pleased to share our conversation with you today and tomorrow in this exclusive interview.

Here is part one of the SUSRIS interview with Assistant Secretary Welch.  Part two will be provided tomorrow, Thursday, March 30, 2006. 

Patrick W. Ryan

C. David Welch
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Washington, DC, March 21, 2006

[Part 1]

SUSRIS: Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to talk with us today about US-Saudi relations. Can we start with the state of the government-to-government relationship? How would you describe the ties between Washington and Riyadh?

Assistant Secretary C. David Welch: This has been an important period in US-Saudi relations. With the death of King Fahd and the transition to the leadership of, then Crown Prince Abdullah, and now, King Abdullah marks an important turning point in the relationship.

As you know, because of King Fahd�s illness things have been managed under the Crown Prince�s leadership in the Kingdom for some time. We had confidence in that interim period but now that he has ascended to king it marks a new point in the relationship. 

Fahd was a close friend of the United States and we had a great deal of experience dealing with the kingdom under his leadership but now the relationship is taking a new course forward under King Abdullah.

I would describe relations as very good. There are important areas of very positive cooperation between us and the kingdom. Like in any mature relationship there are also areas where we may have from time to time our disagreements, but our dialogue with the kingdom is such that we are able to address those candidly and try to work solutions where needed. If that�s not possible we at least agree on what we disagree on and work forward from that. 

The relationship between President Bush and King Abdullah is excellent. They have met a number of times. There is very good personal rapport. I expect to see that pattern of interaction continue. Underneath our president the day-to-day management of the relationship is entrusted of course to the Secretary of State, who heads, along with Prince Saud al-Faisal, our side of the Strategic Dialogue with Saudi Arabia. It is an instrument we inaugurated last year in Crawford Texas. We met once there to open it and then again in November of last year in a more formal setting in Riyadh. Now we are preparing for another round of that Strategic Dialogue probably in the May time frame, although that�s not fixed just yet. 

We will alternate this between Washington and the Kingdom, which is a format that we like because it provides an opportunity for our senior officials to go to Saudi Arabia, to meet with people there, to broaden the audience about the relationship on both sides. That�s a new instrument and I�m pleased to say it is off to a pretty good start as far as we�re concerned.

SUSRIS: Are there other meetings in connection with the Strategic Dialogue set for this month?

Welch: Yes, there are a number of working groups we�ve comprised under this umbrella of the Strategic Dialogue. In some cases the work in these groups is essentially already ongoing. 

Let me give you an example what I mean by that. On counter terrorism -- we didn�t invent something new, we chose to use an instrument that was already in place and functioning well for each side, but give it a new link and nexus with the other parts of the Strategic Dialogue. 

When we actually sit people down together then, the idea is to enable somebody who might be working on counter terrorism, say on the financing perspective in our Treasury Department and on the Saudi side in their Ministry of Interior, for those officials to interact with people who may be working on consular affairs or reform related issues. In that way people can see the breadth of the relationship and understand different parts of it. You know in the past this was not all that easy to do in the case of the Kingdom, in some instances the United States too. 

It�s intended to replicate the dialogue that we have with our other allies, our key non-Arab allies for example. So the groups that have met so far: counter terrorism, economics, and we�ve had a discussion of the partnership working group just recently in the Kingdom, energy has also met. In the consular group we are trying to energize that one a little bit because we are continuing to have visa problems and access issues from both sides that we want to address. So this practical work is underway but what we are hoping for as that pace picks up we will have more robust presentations in each of the successive ministerial meetings that come. The first one of those as I mentioned is likely to be in May. 

SUSRIS: Will the results of these meetings be available to the public?

Welch: From time to time I think some of the results will surface publicly but right now what we want to do is create confidence on both sides in addressing issues that are what some might see as sensitive to each government. Most of this will occur in an environment where that confidence will contribute to progress. 

Aspects of that will be presented publicly. I can imagine, for example, as we testify in Congress about the relationship we will harken back to some of the things that were done there. But what I would really like to see us actually do is achieve some measurable results. For example in the partnership working group we are looking at educational exchanges where the Saudi government and American government have made commitments to education exchanges, something that was very important in the past for US-Saudi relations, a higher bracket item. 

When I looked at this when I came in here as Assistant Secretary for example, it was disappointing to me the low number of Saudi students in the United States. I think King Abdullah has taken a look at that himself and said this is a situation we would like to rectify and is willing to contribute resources to that end. So that we don�t end up with a situation, ten, fifteen, twenty years down the road where we take a look at the Saudi cabinet of the day and we don�t see people like we see today -- like Prince Turki for example, who had been educated in the United States, like Prince Saud, who had been educated in the United States. Those are links that are enormously beneficial for us in cultivating the kind of relationships needed to succeed in our foreign policy objectives there, but also enormously beneficial for Saudis in bringing to development in the kingdom some of the experience that they gain here in America.

SUSRIS: One of the issues discussed at the Crawford meeting last year, was that issue -- the people-to-people exchange issue. Since then getting a visa is still a hurdle to be overcome. Where do we stand on visa problems -- in both directions?

Welch: Well there is work to be done in both directions, in all honesty. Access to the kingdom is not all that easy as you know, and highly regulated. And in the aftermath of 9-11 we have continuing concerns about our own border security. 

I think there is a way to strike the right balance between openness and protection. And of course, that�s our obligation as public servants to protect the security of Americans wherever they are, especially in our homeland. We want to do that diligently. But I do think there is work that can be done here to improve access of Saudis to the United States on a more regular and systematic basis. I think you will be able to measure from the available data that we have made some significant progress in this area. 

SUSRIS: Turning to the business to business relationship, do you see American businesses engaged as much as they should be in the booming economy in the Kingdom?

Welch: Well, we would like to do more. The short answer to that is yes. The kingdom has always been a relatively friendly environment for American businesses but the next focus of development in the kingdom is going to be one of greater self-reliance. Part of that is, I think, going to be built with support from the American business community. 

As the kingdom looks at globalizing its economy, now that it is entering the WTO, and looking down the road to how it develops its commercial and other relationships with the outside, we intend to play a big part. This is an area where we have a very strong commercial interest. 

When I was in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s, �92 through�95, we had a very heavy focus on commercial diplomacy and I like to believe that we will be able to maintain our competitiveness there. 

You know, in some of the traditional businesses we are still quite strong and have an enormous comparative advantage -- oil and gas sector, for example. But in some other businesses in the last fifteen years competitors have come forward to challenge our industries, so we have to be determined and persevere in this. Aircraft for example -- commercial aircraft is an area where in the early 90s our competitive advantage was much greater than it is today, now it is a tough business. So we have to be able to offer a good product and do so in a way with support of our community here to give the best offer forward. 

SUSRIS: What challenges do you see facing people who want to do business in Saudi Arabia. 

Welch: Well I think, lets be honest, getting in and doing business there requires some local knowledge and access. My experience has been that it�s more difficult in the kingdom than it needs to be. 

I�m sure people in the kingdom would say that getting into the United States also has its difficulties for Saudi citizens. So we need to address those problems. There are places where, frankly, it is much more easy for our businesses to operate. 

I think as Saudi Arabia looks at how it globalizes its economy it�s going to have to pay attention to offering opportunities to others because that generates economic activity, generates interest on the part of the companies in headquartering there -- not just for the business in the kingdom but for business elsewhere in the region. That will be important for the economic base and job base in the kingdom. So we ask them to consider those things and open up access more.

SUSRIS: Can you talk about how the security environment might impact business developments?

Welch: This remains a concern. However it isn�t as negative a picture as it was some months ago. The Saudi government is determined and resourceful in its combat against terrorism, including domestically. Their record of success is pretty good. We all know now this is not a perfect environment. There are risks to all of us no matter where we are. 

That said, I sense a really different direction in the kingdom on this issue in the last several years. In time these peoples, who are enemies of both our nations, will be vanquished and the security environment should be a lot better for Saudis and foreigners alike. In the meantime, I think that one has to be very respectful of these security concerns. 

We, as you know, advise our citizens regularly on difficulties when we are aware of them. The American community is a significant one in the kingdom, and in general most Americans who are in the kingdom are not itinerants. They have been there for some time. They are making an investment personally with their business and I think they have a pretty good comprehension of the risks they face. So in a sense they internalize some of this and make their own balance, come to their own balance about how to address it. 

SUSRIS: The new Saudi Ambassador to the US, Prince Turki, when we talked to him a few weeks ago, echoed your comments about the government relationships being on a steady course now and that his mandate from the king is to outreach to the media, to the American public and to the Congress. He has been out around America to places like Massachusetts, Texas, New York and Arizona. Can you comment on the approach he has taken to reaching out to the American people?

Welch: Sure. And let me preface that by saying that our Ambassador in Saudi Arabia tries to do the same. Ambassador Oberwetter travels regularly in the kingdom. He meets with all types of audiences there -- in private settings and in more public ones. It�s very important for diplomatic outreach to have a substantial public element. 

I think His Royal Highness Prince Turki recognizes that here in the United States. I think he also understands that dealing with our public and presenting a face for Saudi Arabia that is recognizable to Americans, and understandable to Americans is a huge part of his mission. 

He has done that not just inside the �beltway,� but as you mentioned also outside of Washington. I pay more attention to what�s going on in the kingdom than what�s going on here but I do read what he says from time to time and talk to him about that part of his mission. I have to say that I think he is doing very, very well at it.

It helps that he knows our country and, you know Prince Turki I�m sure, he�s an affable, comfortable man. Americans respect that. They don�t see him as talking down to them. They see him as kind of a normal person who comes and expresses his country�s national interests and does so in an understandable way. As I said, we can agree with some of what he says, disagree with some of what he says. But the important thing is to get a dialogue going in these different places. After the trauma of 9-11 it�s hugely important for this to be done on a sustained, systematic basis by representatives of both governments. 

For more: http://www.SUSRIS.org

Interview with Assistant Secretary C. David Welch:

• Introduction by Patrick W. Ryan

• Part One - The State of the Relationship

• Part Two - Regional Issues

• Complete Interview

• A New Era in US-Saudi Relations: The View from Foggy Bottom - Patrick W. Ryan - SUSRIS IOI - Mar. 28, 2006

• Saudi Arabia and Congress: Understanding the Tension - David T. Dumke - SUSRIS IOI - Mar. 15, 2006

• Saudis Look East for Higher Studies - SUSRIS IOI - Mar. 13, 2006

• Outreach and Engagement: A Conversation with Saudi Arabia's New Ambassador to the United States - Part 1 - SUSRIS Interview - Mar. 9, 2006

• Tackling the Information Gap - Saudi Arabia's New Ambassador to U.S. Promises Openness and Engagement - 
  Patrick W. Ryan - SUSRIS IOI - Mar. 8, 2006

• Secretary of State Rice and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal - Remarks to the press in Riyadh - SUSRIS IOI - Feb. 23, 2006

• Prince Turki al-Faisal Talks With Charlie Rose - Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the US Takes His Message to Americans - Part 1 - Relations, Oil - SUSRIS IOI - Feb. 18, 2006

• Working Shoulder-to-Shoulder for Better Saudi-US Relations: An Open Letter from a Saudi Businessman - Amr Khashoggi - SUSRIS IOI - Jan. 12, 2006

• More Saudi Students in U.S. - Joel Brinkley - SUSRIS IOI - Dec. 18, 2005

• Saudi-US Strategic Dialogue - Secretary Rice, Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal - Meeting the Press - SUSRIS IOI - Nov. 13, 2005

• King Abdullah Interview - SUSRIS IOI - Oct.22, 2005

• Richard Haass Comments on King Abdullah Interview - SUSRIS IOI - Oct. 22, 2005

• On Relations and Reforms: A Conversation with Usamah al Kurdi - SUSRIS IOI - Sep. 30, 2005

• In Pursuit of Understanding: Karen Hughes in Saudi Arabia - SUSRIS IOI - Sep. 29, 2005

• Secretary Rice, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal Meet the Press - SUSRIS IOI - Jun. 21, 2005

• Building Bridges: A Conversation with Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal - SUSRIS IOI - Jun. 2, 2005

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