Next week, I’m heading off for a visit to Saudi Arabia–at my own expense–to keep in touch with the country and my Saudi friends. It’s just over two years since I’ve been there and I need to see and hear for myself just how things are changing. Call it “ground-truthing” as I check that my perspectives are still accurate.
I’ll travel via London and spend a few days there, meeting with Saudi journalists and others, too. I plan to be in the UK from the 20th-25th, then the Kingdom from the 25th-31st. If Saudi or other bloggers would like to get together, please contact me at the address given on the “Contact” page of this blog and I’ll see what I can fit into the schedule.
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January:13:2006 - 21:47
Hi there John, would love to have a sit togther when your in Riyadh if you can squeeze me in to your schedule.
January:13:2006 - 23:19
I look forward to it!
January:15:2006 - 09:47
It’s quite fascinating how one cannot help but miss Riyadh.
January:15:2006 - 15:36
I do like Riyadh, but much prefer Jeddah!
January:17:2006 - 12:34
Have a good trip, Im looking forward to your impressions and analysis.
February:01:2006 - 00:22
Anything to report on WTO-related matters?
February:04:2006 - 09:51
I did ask around about WTO and boycotting of Israel. So far, there are no products marked “Made in Israel” in the marketplace, nor are their likely to be. What will happen, though, is that products made in Israel which form parts of other products–sub-assemblies, if you will–will start finding their ways in.
To date, there are no official complaints from Israel about any secondary or tertiary boycotts according to contacts at State Dept.
February:04:2006 - 20:51
The products I’m aware of are not made in Israel; they must be packaged specially for Saudi Arabia because their “normal” packaging implies that they are intended for Israeli markets. That, I think, is the sort of tertiary boycott forbidden by WTO rules, is it not? (Possibly the Israeli gov’t itself is unaware of this sort of thing.)
February:05:2006 - 11:47
Solomon2: Again, I’m not aware of this, nor is the Saudi Desk at State Dept. Can you provide details? If so, I’ll pass them on and see what I can find.
February:05:2006 - 12:01
These are EU products and companies, not American ones, so why would State consider it their business? Besides, I promised my source (yes, there’s only one, I apologize for the slight exaggeration) that I would keep the info anonymous and not even refer to the products involved.
February:05:2006 - 18:16
Well, OK, I’ve no reason to doubt the source. But one data point is a little too few to declare a trend or even a tendancy. If something’s not getting through, it’s as likely to be an error as an intentional act, given the data set.
I will keep looking for more evidence, though.