Bonnie Pounds

For Arabs—who put a high value on personal relationships in the conduct of their business—it is often frustrating to have to deal with one more new face whenever a foreign official or businessman flies in to talk about an old, ongoing project. This is one reason why so many officials in Saudi Arabia are happy when Bonnie Pounds steps off the plane. Mrs. Pounds, the U.S. Director for the Saudi Arabian-United States Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation, has been doing essentially the same job for the past eight years—which ought to be close to a record in bureaucratic longevity—and there is never any need for the Saudi hosts to start out by trying to break the ice. They are already her friends.

Mrs. Pounds has known many of them since shortly after she acted as one of the midwives during the birth of the Joint Commission in December 1974. Ever since, she has had day-to-day management responsibility for the U.S. side of it under a succession of different titles. Her present one dates from 1981.

Providing an Extra Dimension

The birth of the Joint Commission was induced by the U.S. and Saudi governments at a time when higher oil revenues were making it possible for Saudi development plans to become much more ambitious—a fact which led the governments to conclude that they should try to provide an extra dimension to their economic cooperation. Among the major economic goals which they set for the Joint Commission were the transfer of technology to Saudi Arabia and the upgrading of the technical and managerial skills of the Saudi work force.

What has emerged over the past eight years is a varied program carried out by eleven U.S. government agencies—and coordinated by the Treasury Department—that has been bringing technology to Saudi Arabia in such fields as solar energy, statistics and data processing, university administration, transportation and desalination. In addition, hundreds of Saudis have been receiving formal training in the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia on these and other subjects. Virtually everything the Joint Commission has done has been paid for, in cash, by the Saudis.

Mrs. Pounds' role in all this is to coordinate the input of the various agencies, set down uniform rules and procedures, develop policy guidelines, handle the budget, arrange for recruiting, disburse funds and carry out a million and one other functions—which includes dealing with her opposite numbers in Saudi Arabia and with other Saudis and Americans in the field.

"The people-to-people part of the job is fun—and also very important," says Mrs. Pounds. "Getting Saudis and Americans to understand one another better was one of the major goals set forth by the Joint Commission when it was formed—and just by doing our jobs, we are helping this happen. When you come right down to it, what are we other than just a group of individuals working together to carry out projects?"

Mrs. Pounds herself is a particularly good example of how differing cultures can interact successfully. To some American observers it seems strange that it should be a woman who plays such a key liaison role with Saudi Arabia—a country where hardly any women hold such jobs. But it doesn't seem strange to Mrs. Pounds—nor, she says, does it to the Saudis.

"They know our culture is different, and they respect it," says Mrs. Pounds. "I don't feel any awareness that they attach importance to the fact that I am a woman. We spend our time focusing on the work problems. And, of course, my own actions are guided by a respect for their culture, too."

Best of Both Worlds

In a way, Mrs. Pounds appears to get the best of both worlds. As a woman, she is not excluded from working sessions or ceremonial functions which take place in surroundings that are normally male preserves. Yet as a woman, she is also able to have tea with the wives of the officials she deals with—making the sort of social contacts which are not possible for her male colleagues.

Mrs. Pounds visits Saudi Arabia on the average of a couple of times a year, and she finds the visits exciting. Her most recent trip lasted three weeks. "Here in Washington I'm desk bound," she says. "When I reach Saudi Arabia, I get to see some of the projects that are being carried out. It's exciting just to drive by a site and see a big sign giving the name of the project: you're actually there, not just seeing the name on a piece of paper."

Mrs. Pounds travels around the United States as well, when she gets the chance, especially to speak to business groups—since one of the Joint Commission's top priorities is to encourage the involvement of both the Saudi and U.S. private sectors in Saudi development.

Prior to joining the Treasury Mrs. Pounds had been with the Commerce Department, where she was responsible for the development of the Joint Commercial Missions between the U.S., the Soviet Union and several East European countries. She is a graduate of Mercyhurst College, and holds an M.S. in International Relations and an M.A. in Economics from Georgetown University.