When, earlier this month, Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, then Saudi ambassador in London, was appointed minister of water, it was inevitable that a considerable slice of the Western media, having jumped aboard an anti-Saudi bandwagon, should choose to present it as demotion under a cloud.
The UK media may imagine that nothing could be more wonderful than being an ambassador in London, but in no other country would swapping an ambassadorship for a major Cabinet post be seen as demotion. The other way round, yes: if a British Cabinet minister were to be told that he was to be appointed ambassador somewhere, even, say, Paris or Berlin, no one would be in any doubt that it was demotion.
Of course, to say this is not to suggest that the UK is not important in Saudi thinking; it is an old and valued friend. In addition to political and economic links, there is the fact that so many Saudis visit the UK for a variety of reasons — health, vacation, business, education. That makes the post of Saudi ambassador in London important and the quality of the person filling it crucial. Al-Gosaibi was deemed the right man for the job when he was sent to London in 1992. Since then, he has done much to strengthen Saudi-British relations, and it is a testimony to the hard work he has done that, despite the jeers from the media sidelines, they are in such a healthy state at present.
Just as he was the right man to go to London ten years ago so too he is the right man to take over the water portfolio now. It is no post for timeservers. Water may not be the big issue in countries that have plenty of it, but here it is the lifeblood of the country — and it is a lifeblood in crisis. It affects people as nothing else can — not unemployment, not Iraq, not the Palestinians. That makes water not just an economic issue but a social and political one as well, and the water portfolio one of the most important in government after defense, foreign and domestic affairs.
That is why the Saudi business community and those with a nose for politics in the Kingdom are rather pleased that Al-Gosaibi has been brought home and put in charge. He comes from that generation of Saudi technocrats who, as young men in the mid-70s, orchestrated the country’s development boom — men like Sulaiman Al-Suleim and Hisham Nazer. He is known to be a hard worker, a man with ideas and one who can turn ideas into facts. While he was industry and electricity minister, it was he who made the proposal to establish Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, now the world’s largest petrochemical exporter. He has a wealth of administrative experience behind him, not only in his various earlier ministerial capacities — health, electricity and industry — but also has hands-on experience, having been chairman of Jubail Petrochemical Company (Sadaf) and the Yanbu Petrochemical Company as well as serving on various public bodies.
No one imagines that the task facing him will be easy. Desalination, water collection schemes, wastage, conservation, the involvement of the private sector, effective collection of water revenues, new wells: the task is immense. But if there is one man who can get to grips with it and start to deliver, Al-Gosaibi, with his proven skills, looks to be that person.
