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Baghdad ICU Strained by Infection Surge; British Prime Minister Unveils Plan to Ease England's Lockdown; Iran Allows Monitoring but Sets New Limits; Interview with Former IAEA Chief Hans Blix on Iran's Nuclear Standoff; Saudi Arabia Mourns Death of Former Oil Minister. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 23, 2021 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why do you think people are reluctant to come to the hospital initially?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe because of culture, Iraq culture.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight, many still don't believe it's real until it's too late. We go inside an intensive care ward in
Baghdad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Then --
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JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: It's the physical hardware that usually garners attention at a program like this, for example, an
armed robotic vehicle. Equal billing is being given to the software to support a defense electronic shield.
ANDERSON (voice-over): That's something you don't see every day, people close together. We are inside the international defense exhibition here in
Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Plus, wish you were here?
Well, Europe recruiting new astronauts as NASA beams back incredible new scenes of Mars. We will tie it all together for you coming up.
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ANDERSON: Hello and welcome to the program. I'm Becky Anderson. Good to have you on board.
Well, we are right now going to connect you to three very different worlds, one of listless destruction in Iraq, one of horrific death in America and,
in the United Kingdom, one of a world of hope, hope in getting back to normal -- or at least a normal of sorts.
Our global COVID-19 tour as it were starts in Iraq this evening, now facing a second wave of the disease after too many in the country let their guard
down, believing the worst was over.
Fact: cases are going up in Iraq fast, largely driven by the spread of the U.K. variant. You can see the dramatic spike on this chart, more than 4,000
new cases reported in the past day, deaths topping 13,000. And some 38,000 Iraqis are now in hospital with COVID-19.
Maybe Iran is taking note. It's closed several border crossings with Iraq. And U.S. sanctions on Iran also impacting Iraq, putting even more strain on
Iraq's economy and health care system. Let's get to Arwa Damon in Baghdad, who is getting rare access for us inside an Iraqi hospital.
Coincidentally, this just around the time of what is the 18-year anniversary of the American invasion.
What have you found there?
DAMON: Well, Becky, one has to say that, despite the struggle, despite the fight against the virus, inside the ICU, we also found something quite
unexpected, a certain level of warmth, the human touch. And it made all the difference for the patients and their loved ones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON (voice-over): The constant beeping of the machines is mind-numbing. But at least here, there is something rarely seen inside a COVID-19
intensive care unit. Those struggling for each breath are not alone.
Amna's (ph) weak laugh is muffled, an inside joke shared with the doctors about how her daughter, Naba (ph), is constantly hovering over her. The
family went to a wedding, no masks, no social distancing, a decision they all bitterly regret.
"I also have COVID, but I had forgotten about it with the state my mother is in," Naba says, as her voice starts to crack.
"We filled the house with oxygen tanks, but it wasn't enough. And then, we brought her here."
Amna (ph) nods her head, she is doing much better now.
Wafat's (ph) family also tried to treat her, using oxygen at home. They didn't want to bring her to a hospital, not an uncommon occurrence in Iraq.
DAMON: Why do you think people are reluctant to come to the hospital initially?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe because of culture, Iraq culture.
DAMON (voice-over): For some, it's a fear of being stigmatized, having caught a virus that has brought the world to its knees.
[10:05:00]
DAMON (voice-over): "There are people, even now, who say, what is this, corona?" Wafat's (ph) daughter, Neeran (ph), tells us.
"They don't believe that the virus exists until it hits them."
But, it is also a misunderstanding, that oxygen and vitamins aren't enough to treat the symptoms of the virus. And, there is also a lack of faith in
Iraq's health care systems, which have yet to fully recover from sanctions dating back to the Saddam Hussein era and, then, nonstop war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a very bad thing to keep patients in the home, or at home. Treatment at home.
DAMON (voice-over): Iraq's first COVID-19 wave devastated the country. Hospitals were overwhelmed. This particular infectious diseases hospital in
Baghdad that the government facilitated our access to, saw its patient numbers triple in the last two weeks.
DAMON: Are you ready for maximum capacity, or more?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have beds, we have doctors, we have nurse.
DAMON (voice-over): And they do not have a choice.
HASSAN ALAA, CHIEF RESIDENT: Two months ago, the virus nearly -- from Iraq, I mean -- deleted from all Iraq people. So, all people leave face
mask, leave sterilization, leave everything and neglected everything, neglected all of protection.
DAMON: Does this make you stressed?
Does this make you worried?
ALAA: Sure. We're afraid our family, ourselves from this new virus but we should do what we can and to the benefit for the patients.
DAMON: By that new virus, Dr. Alaa means a new variant. Iraq's ministry of health recently stated that 50 percent of the new infections are of the
highly contagious B117 variant, first identified in the U.K.
The government only just made face masks mandatory and reimplemented stricter restrictions, like nighttime and weekend curfews.
"It should have happened before, not now, at the end," Neeran (ph) says of the government's measures, as her mother's chest heaves with each labored
breath. She will not leave her side. No matter the risk, no matter the circumstances, in Iraq, no one stays in a hospital alone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: There is a certain level of frustration, Becky, among the nurses and doctors that we spoke to, that Iraq has yet to begin vaccinations. We
did get in touch with the ministry of health, who said they anticipate the first shipment of vaccines to arrive from China in early March.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon is in Baghdad for you. Thank you.
That's a look at Iraq. Now to the reality in America and the tremendous amount of death there. The U.S. now crossing another terrible threshold,
500,000 lives lost. Flags are lowered on government buildings to pay tribute to the fathers, the mothers and the children, who are no longer
here because of this pandemic.
And the virus just creating an incredible void. As unfathomable as this number may seem, President Biden says we cannot, quote, "become numb" to
the sorrow.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America, remember each person and the life they lived,
they're people we knew and people we feel like we knew.
I read the obituaries and the remembrances, a son who called his mom every night just to check in, the father's daughter, who lit up his world. The
best friend who was always there.
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ANDERSON: While case numbers are improving, that loss is still literally growing by the minute. Since the 500,000 mark was crossed on Monday, more
than 400 more Americans have died. Nearly 2.5 million lives, of course, lost worldwide.
One of those people was 61-year-old Cheryl Birch. Her death prompted her son, Aaron, to take on anti-maskers on a very personal level. Aaron Birch
will share his story with us next hour. Do stay with us for that.
I want to go to England now, charting a course out of the pandemic, albeit cautiously but optimistically. It has been a long, dark road through three
lockdowns over the past year.
But the country does now have a road map for easing restrictions, which, unsurprisingly, has given the place a renewed sense of hope with a plan to
get back on track. People can hardly wait to get out and about, largely because it looks like summer will be back.
The British prime minister saying a short time ago that he is very optimistic all legal restrictions will be lifted by late June. Elaborating
on the lockdown exit plan he unveiled yesterday, now caution is still Boris Johnson's watchword in all of this.
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ANDERSON: But not so much amongst people rushing to book vacations. The U.K. media reporting that phones have been ringing off the hook at travel
companies. No surprise, the vaccines are playing a very big part in the mood. Let's connect to London now and to CNN's Nic Robertson.
You're in London. I also understand there are new developments from Scotland out of Edinburgh today, which are in line with this sort of
broader mood as it were across England, even the U.K., dare I say. Stealing a lead, certainly on Europe at this point, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It is. This hopefulness that Boris Johnson talks about, tempered by people following
the rules and regulations every step of the way. That was something we heard from Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
But it's very interesting when you compare and contrast the two because Scotland has a lower rate of infection than England, has an R number, the
reproduction rate, very similar to England. And Nicola Sturgeon didn't lay out her road map as far as Boris Johnson has gone.
Hers went only to the end of April and the things she's talking about doing at the end of April, like reopening hospitality, allowing hair salons and
gyms to reopen, are things that Boris Johnson is going to do in the middle of April.
And she said quite specifically, we don't have a lot of headroom to play with. And she is going for a phased return to school. She's going for
careful analysis in between each phase.
They started yesterday in the primary schools, at years 1 to 3; in three weeks' time it will be the years 4 to 7 and, after that, the secondary
schools around about the middle of April.
So you can see that these two leaders, while both being optimistic and both warning their populations that they need to be cautious and follow the
rules, are taking slightly different approaches, more cautious in Scotland.
Perhaps the critics would argue Boris Johnson and some of his scientists would say slightly less cautious. But it is a message of hope and
absolutely that really is the message. And vaccines are behind it all. Both of them saying the reason they can do this is the vaccines.
And I think just one other tiny point on the vaccines. This essentially puts Brits in a state of being able to travel, perhaps sooner than other
nations. So this question of coronavirus passports, COVID-ready passports if you will, that's coming up. And the prime minister says that's going to
have to have a lot of discussion, ethical, moral, psychological, a lot of issues going to have to go into that discussion.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson on the story for us. Thank you, Nic.
COVID vaccines are now more than a way out of the pandemic. They have ended the arena of soft parent statecraft. Lithuania, for one, says it won't buy
Russia's vaccine, calling it a geopolitical tool. Lithuania's foreign minister joining me live in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD to explain.
A titan in Saudi Arabia's oil industry has passed away.
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SHEIKH AHMED ZAKI YAMANI, FORMER SAUDI ARABIAN OIL MINISTER: Anything can happen and it can either ruin the oil business or bring it up.
ANDERSON (voice-over): A closer look at the man who witnessed those ups and downs firsthand. That's coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And Iran ups the ante in a standoff over its nuclear program. Some inside insight next from the former chief of the nuclear watchdog, the
IAEA, Hans Blix.
Plus if you've ever dreamed of being an astronaut, now just may be your chance. Find out if you qualify next hour on CONNECT THE WORLD.
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ANDERSON: This hour, developments on Iran are coming thick and fast. But keep the big picture in mind through all of this.
Who will blink first, Iran or the U.S. and its European partners?
It was supposed to be deadline day for Iran to cut off inspections of its nuclear facilities. But last weekend's deal gave U.N. monitors an extension
of sorts, which also gave diplomacy some room to breathe.
There is now a little extra time for the U.S. and Iran to move back toward the nuclear deal that was abandoned by the Trump administration. But Tehran
also turning up the pressure with some terse ground rules.
First, the country is cutting off snap U.N. inspections, something Iran had allowed under the so-called additional protocol, basically an agreement to
let the nuclear watchdog in on short notice.
No more, though. Iran says that's gone. And on top of that, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says Iran just might start enriching
uranium up to 60 percent. The U.S. State Department says that sounds like a threat. And that is a direct quote.
I don't want to get you caught up in those numbers, 20 percent; 60 percent. It's actually not an awful lot of difference between them, certainly not as
much as you might think. So to help put the numbers into context, please just allow me a moment to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Bringing some 500 sounds like hundreds of miles of the Pacific.
To unleash this, you start with this, raw uranium. Fresh out of the ground, it's not useful for much. It needs enriching. To do that, you need these,
centrifuges, thousands of them.
They spin uranium around at super fast speeds, about 1,000 times a second, shaking out the stuff you don't want and leaving the powerful stuff you do.
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE: For the next 15 years, no uranium will be enriched beyond 3.67 percent.
ANDERSON: But in the past, Iran going far beyond that threshold, as high as 20 percent. And that's important, because while there are still
technical challenges in going even further, once you are that far, you're well on the way to weapons grade 90 percent enriched.
And that is what that little phrase "uranium enrichment" really means.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: So you see you could argue that it's the big picture that matters here, not these numbers.
My next guest says a return to the JCPOA means also a return to the international legal order, namely the Security Council resolution of 2015
that the Trump administration unceremoniously abandoned to set up Washington as the world's sanctioning authority.
Those the words of Hans Blix. You will know Hans Blix. He is the former head of the IAEA, today joining us from Stockholm.
It is good to have you on board.
Firstly, let me just ask. I trust you and your family are well through this pandemic?
HANS BLIX, FORMER IAEA DIRECTOR: Yes, we're all right but it's -- and spring is coming so life is looking good.
ANDERSON: Well, that's a good, optimistic outlook, sir. Thank you for that.
Let's talk these -- this Iran deal, the JCPOA, as it was known and what happens next.
My understanding is that you are for a return to the JCPOA. Let's have a listen to what the U.S. national security adviser told CNN recently.
[10:20:00]
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JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: So I think the first order of business here would be for the Iranians to take the decision to stop the
process of moving further out of compliance.
And then I do believe that there is a diplomatic pathway to getting to an ultimate agreement, in which we can all have confidence that Iran's nuclear
program has a lid on it, the kind of lid that was on it when we were actually all in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The response from the Iranians is that it was the U.S. who chose to leave the deal in the first place.
So, sir, the real question here surely is, who blinks first?
Mr. Blix?
(CROSSTALK)
BLIX: Oh, you're asking me?
ANDERSON: I am, sir. Badly phrased question. Sorry, sir, I apologize.
BLIX: I think it's obvious that they should both come together at the same moment. Now you were right in describing the nuclear deal that was reached
after many years of negotiations in 2015.
And that envisaged a very strong, strict limitation against the Iranian nuclear energy program, including limitations on the level of enrichment
and so forth but also other elements.
And on the other side, it included also a commitment by the U.S. and by the rest of the world to lift all economic sanctions against Iran so that it
could sell its oil.
What happened in 2018 was that the U.S. administration abandoned, as you said, abandoned the agreement and, instead of following it, accepting the
Security Council resolution, it imposed these most stringent sanctions on Iran to sort of choke Iran.
And not only did so for itself but also asked the rest of the world to follow Washington as the sanction-giving authority of the world.
And then Iran retaliated and said that, if you abandon your obligations, then we will gradually abandon ours as well. And they took one stab at a
stand and declared simultaneously that, as soon as you come back into compliance, we will also come back into compliance.
That's where we are now and it's getting critical because the world is interested in having Iran accepting IAEA inspections under a very advanced,
very intrusive inspection monitoring. And Iran has gone along to say that, well, for three months, we'll accept some.
But thereafter, we may -- they finish inspections under the additional protocol. I think everybody hopes that they will get together.
And it seems to me obvious that they should do it simultaneously. There would be a great merit in -- a win in this, not only for Iran but also for
the world because what happened in 2015 was that the U.S. abandoned the Security Council decision.
It was a unanimous and binding decision and the U.S. simply abandoned that. Now the Paris agreement was one that from -- on which there was no
withdrawal clause. The Security Council resolutions do not have any withdrawal clauses. There was a breach of this.
And I think it's very bad for the world if one cannot rely upon Security Council resolutions that are adopted by unanimity. So they would come back
to the legality of the international order if they now manage to not -- to blink at the same time and to lift the sanctions and, at the same time,
Iran will fulfill all the commitments they had.
ANDERSON: Iran's critics will argue that they continue to use access, to the organization that you used to run and -- in order to play games.
Following his trip to Tehran, the current IAEA director-general did seem fairly content with the new deal that he was able to strike. I just want
our viewers to have a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: There is less access but still we were able to retain the necessary degree of
monitoring and modification work for what it is, as it's been defined, as you will see, as you read it again, as a temporary technical understanding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You've said in the past, and I quote, "My hunch is that they, the Americans, want to use sanctions as a way of holding back the Iranians.
[10:25:00]
ANDERSON: "And that they are, in fact, less worried about the nuclear issue. Nuclear in the case of Iran, as in Iraq, serves as a mantle, as a
label of subterfuge for their action."
Can you explain what you mean and how you perceive this bigger picture, where we go from here?
BLIX: Well, there are different levels of inspection. And up to 1991, when I was still head of the IAEA, we had sort of a standard inspection
protocol. It was not sufficient. We didn't discover what had been going on in Iraq. And Security Council then imposed the very stiff order, which gave
the IAEA a very far reaching rights of inspection.
And on the strength of that, we worked out the so-called additional protocol that gives the agency much more rights to ask questions. And the
state in question will have to report much more and be much more open.
Now that protocol has been accepted by about 100 countries. And Iran has also accepted the implementation and application of it as a part of the
nuclear deal of 2015.
What is now happening is that Iran is saying, we will walk back from these very intrusive inspections. We will keep inspections that we are obliged to
do under the nonproliferation treaty but not as far reaching.
Well, it's certainly -- I think one should see this monitoring and inspection as a service from the IAEA to the world. It was a country that
wants to have -- world have confidence in it but it's not going for nuclear weapons, need an outsider to do the inspections.
If Iran were to say simply itself that we are not making nuclear weapons, well, that may be good enough but it will have much more credibility if an
outsider, competent and independent and professional organization goes through it very thoroughly and says that, no, there is no diversionary
(INAUDIBLE) of material (ph). They are not cheating at all.
So a little less confidence will be now between the -- when they are restricting the IAEA inspections. But there are still inspections going on.
And that's a good thing and it gives a little time for the U.S. and for Europeans and Iranians and Russians and Chinese to come together and try to
put Humpty Dumpty together again.
By that, I mean the nuclear deal.
ANDERSON: That's a choice phrase but perhaps a very good one. I do have to ask this because I've been asked this by a number of people. And this can
be sort of quite torturous for people to get their heads around. You are an absolute expert in this. Let me put this to you.
By stopping the implementation of this additional protocol, effectively limiting which facilities nuclear inspectors can scrutinize, and making it
harder for experts to determine if Tehran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons, that worries people.
As an expert on nuclear energy and nonproliferation, does that concern you?
Frankly, let me put it very, very basically.
What's Iran trying to hide at this point?
BLIX: I don't think they are trying to hide. I think they are simply saying that, if you are not fulfilling your obligation, you have -- we are
not fulfilling the obligations we have undertaken.
I think on the contrary, Iran is eager to show that they are deviating from the nuclear deal that was reached. They say that this is what you are
losing. If you are coming back to full compliance, well, then we are also going back.
So I think, in a way, they have an interest in having the IAEA present and at the level which they are now and then with a promise that they will come
back.
ANDERSON: Sir, you've said in a recent interview that Qatar could play a role in removing the barrier between Washington and Tehran, which you have
suggested would allow for further progress in diplomacy.
There is much talk in this region of the Gulf where I am about getting more stakeholders on regional security around the table with Tehran.
Can you explain what you specifically meant by referring to Qatar in playing a role here?
BLIX: Well, if I understand you right, you were asking me what further can be done to improve the safety and security in the Gulf region.
[10:30:00]
BLIX: And I think that if they now manage to come together on the nuclear deal, then a further step should be cooperation between the countries
around the Gulf to the safety of nuclear power.
Now that is not proliferation. That's not to do with bombs. That's to do with the safety of nuclear power reactors. And Iran has two such reactors
in the south of Iran and Abu Dhabi, where you may be there now. They have four nuclear power reactors.
And I was chairing an international group that helped them watch the construction of these reactors. Now these are very, very expensive sites
and installations and they produce enormous amounts of electricity for the region.
And we also hear that Saudi Arabia is also planning to build nuclear power plants. Now all of them should be interested in good safety, good safe
running of these installations. And my suggestion was simply that a next step is that they'll get together and they agree on mutual cooperation.
ANDERSON: And with that, sir, I am going to have to leave you there. I have to take a break. It's been a pleasure having you on. Thank you so
much, Hans Blix. Back after this.
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ANDERSON: One of the men who made Saudi Arabia into a global energy powerhouse has died. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani passed away at the age of 90.
He served as the oil minister until 1962-1986, leading the country's main export through turbulent and, quite frankly, exhilarating times for the
kingdom.
Among them the 1973 oil embargo, which effectively pulled the rug out from the global economy in what was an extraordinary moment in history. Emerging
markets editor John Defterios joins us from a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi. We'll find out more about that in a moment.
First, I would like to talk about Sheikh Yamani, John, because you both met in 2010, a significant year for the sheikh.
DEFTERIOS: 2010 was the marking of the 50th anniversary of OPEC. We did the interview at his home on Lake Geneva. He was willing to talk.
[10:35:00]
DEFTERIOS: And for me, covering OPEC for so long, he was a larger than life figure, Becky, even though he was not a tall man. He was the minister
for a quarter century, defined leadership within OPEC for Saudi Arabia, which holds today as the number one exporter.
But I think he'll be defined by two events in his lifetime, the 1975 kidnapping by ramiro Sanchez, known as Carlos the Jackal. It happened in
Algiers, started in Vienna and went to Libya and went back to Algiers.
And the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo in response to Nixon's support for Israel and the conflict with Egypt and Syria. Former secretary of state Henry
Kissinger called it Arab blackmail (ph) back then. And that's where I started my interview with Yamani.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YAMANI: That's a very long story. And the reaction of America for what happened is not a one reaction. They decided to raise the price of oil 400
percent. And this is how they deprived OPEC from very strategic power.
The Arab oil was meant, and I was behind it, not to help the economy, just to attract the national public, public opinion, that there is a problem
between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
Unfortunately, money is very attractive. Members in OPEC, they love money and revenue. And this is why they push the price up as quickly as possible
and they paid the price for what they did.
DEFTERIOS: Do you regret the actions in 1973?
(CROSSTALK)
YAMANI: No, I don't regret that --
DEFTERIOS: It was the right thing to do.
YAMANI: -- I regret what OPEC did. You could not really manage the price. It was a mismanagement of price, a mismanagement of power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: That's the fine line of management. We've seen it last year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic between Saudi Arabia and Russia, a
little price war that happened. And we have oil at a 13-month high.
What does Saudi Arabia do next to put supplies back on the market?
After the interview, Yamani told me an interesting story about Carlos the Jackal, who is on the tarmac in Algiers, came back and told Yamani, within
20 minutes, I'm going to come back to the plane here and strangle you with my bare hands and relish the moment.
And in that 20 minutes is when the paratroopers stormed the plane and the ordeal was over. It was an incredible story over the lunch we had after the
interview in 2010.
ANDERSON: Remarkable. Remarkable. The man who had his hands squarely on the spigot of the global oil market for so long.
You are flanked there by some fairly sophisticated military hardware. Just explain where you are and why, John.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, indeed. I'm on the parade route outside the exhibition center here. And you can see the tanks behind me. This is a major
exhibition that takes place every two years. Significant in the deal flow, of course. 42 agreements so far, $5 billion. That matches the entire week
in 2019.
But set the prices aside and the deals, this is the first major event in Abu Dhabi since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a major milestone
for them. And it also sends the signal, why defense is so important for security but also for development here in the UAE. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Images like these speak volumes. Call it a showcase for military readiness, from jet fighters to naval combat ships.
Despite a global pandemic, Abu Dhabi chose to greenlight IDEX, a major international defense exhibition, giving a clear signal from the top brass
in the Gulf state that security never sleeps.
STEPHANE MULLER, HENSOLDT: It's based on radar which will detect the drone.
Hensoldt is a Munich-based defense electronics group, showcasing a new counterdrone system.
MULLER: Security cannot rest. Each and every country has to ensure the safety of its inhabitants. And the UAE has 80 percent of ex-pats and they
are showing how much they are concerned to keep peace within the region and especially in the country.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Under strict COVID testing protocols, 900 exhibitors and thousands of participants have turned out for the biennial
event. And for good reason: the Middle East is filled with trouble spots; a Saudi-led six-year bombing campaign in Yemen, Houthi rebel drone attacks
on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, ongoing tensions with regional rival Iran and internal strife in Libya.
[10:40:00]
DEFTERIOS: As a result, military outlays remain high in this region, over $100 billion a year. And that's despite the fact we saw a collapse in oil
prices during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saudi Arabia ranks fifth in the world in defense spending as a percentage of GDP. The UAE spends more than double the international average. And that
does not include a $23 billion contract for a fleet of Lockheed Martin's F- 35 jet fighters, signed in the last days of the Trump administration but placed on temporary hold by U.S. President Joe Biden.
While it's the physical hardware that usually garners attention at a program like this, for example, an armed robotic vehicle, equal billing is
being given to the software to support a defense electronic shield. That is to protect the critical infrastructure like pipelines, refineries and
ports.
Suhail Al Mazrouei is the UAE minister of energy and infrastructure.
SUHAIL AL MAZROUEI, UAE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE: When you talk about the future, now the attacks happens remotely sometimes. And the
effect is as if it's physical to the infrastructure. We have seen it done in many parts around the world.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): This event gives the appearance of being a contractor's ball, with global defense giants serving major clients in the
region. But there's also a strategic shift underway, started by the UAE.
Tareq Al Hosani is chief executive of Abu Dhabi's Tawazun Economic Council, a government entity that is supporting the development of a full range of
defense technologies, from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity.
TAREQ AL HOSANI, TAWAZUN ECONOMIC COUNCIL: UAE was not more indigenous capabilities, create balance between allies and you can share the economic
stake and (INAUDIBLE). Our military had very unique, specific requirement that sometime you cannot find it in the market. So we had to develop our
own.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): This region has a small population, less than 60 million people. It punches above its weight in defense spending. Now it's
out to do the same with its own military knowhow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: And in that spirit, Becky, there were high expectations about UAE-Israel collaboration at IDEX. In actual fact, because of the travel
restrictions and COVID-19 in Israel, instead of 500 participants, they had about 10 percent of that.
But as you know that narrative is not over yet. This is one area they'll collaborate in, in the future, particularly when it comes to defense
electronics -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. John, thank you. John Defterios on the story for you.
We will be back in a moment.
[10:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[11:00:00]
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