Wikileaks: Saudi SAMA governor: 'Saudi Arabia has the ability to both undermine & safeguard the world's economy ... beyond the size of its GDP'

Via FLC

Subject	Treasury D/s Wolin Discusses Economic And Financial Issues In Saudi Arabia
Origin	Embassy Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
Cable time	Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:57 UTC
Classification	CONFIDENTIAL
Source	http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10RIYADH226.html

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¶1. (U) Summary: On February 13-14, Treasury Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin visited Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Governor Muhammad Al Jasser and Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al Assaf....

¶7. (C) Jasser stated that for over thirty years, Saudi Arabia has made decisions based on the long-term impact of those decisions on the global economy, rather than on the basis ofdomestic political considerations. For example, Saudi Arabia was conscious of the global impact of its decision-makin during the Iranian Revolution, Iran/Iraq War, economic crisis in Latin America, and even in the "good times" in 2006-2008, when good policies could make a difference. He stated Saudi Arabia is not "dumb" or "altruistic," but acts out of "enlightened self interest."

¶8. (C) Jasser stated that, as an oil economy, Saudi Arabia has the ability to both undermine and safeguard the world's economy. He noted that Saudi Arabia was able and willing to support reform efforts at the IMF and World Bank, but that the ability to harm or help the global economy is a better measure of a nation's relative economic importance than GDP..."

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