Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Three Americans Freed in Prisoner Exchange Return to U.S.; Hamas Calls for Prayers & Day of Anger over Assassination; Trump, Without Evidence, Suggests U.S. Paid for Prisoner Swap; U.S. Jobs Report: 114,000 Jobs Added in July; Inside Painstaking Negotiations that Led to Prisoner Swap. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired August 02, 2024 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, it's 04:00 p.m. in Doha, where the funeral for Hamas Political Leader, Ismail Haniyeh took place
after his assassination in Teheran. It is 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, also over the next two
hours, Israel announcing the death of another senior militant figure in Gaza.
Just days after two high profile assassinations, one in Tehran and in Beirut, left the region on edge. Plus, an emotional and overdue homecoming
American prisoners held in Russia finally released amongst some journalists, Evan Gershkovich. And the veepstakes eat up Kamala Harris's
potential running mates await her announcement.
In New York, we'll open about 30 minutes from now there it is 09:00 a.m. The markets of course open at 09:30 and the futures markets indicating
quite a negative opening. There is some real concern given the week's jobs report, it was weak about whether the U.S. is actually headed for recession
at this point. More on that at the bottom of the hour for you.
Well three Americans freed from Russian prisons are now back in the United States greeted with hugs, tears and overwhelming joy after their plane
landed in Maryland late on Thursday. Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, "Wall Street Journal" Reporter Evan Gershkovich and the Russian American
Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were part of a massive prisoner exchange involving more than two dozen people and seven countries.
Well, their return marks the conclusion of what U.S. President Joe Biden called a brutal ordeal and a feat of diplomacy. CNN's Nada Bashir has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Home at last landing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the long-awaited return of three Americans
detained in Russia. Now finally, a reality. Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Journalists Alsu Kurmasheva, and "Wall Street Journal" Reporter Evan
Gershkovich, seen here being welcomed by cheers before an emotional reunion with his mother.
All smiles as he greets fellow journalists. For President Biden this was an historic feat of diplomacy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you think that this moment would come sir?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What made you feel so confident?
BIDEN: -- heads of state --
BASHIR (voice-over): They returned comes as part of a carefully broken exchange, the largest prisoner swap according to the U.S. since the Cold
War. Secured in coordination with Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. Among the 16 U.S. and European nationals released from detention in
Russia.
Prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British national and permanent U.S. resident. Heard here speaking to his children, he joined the
president in a call from the Oval Office.
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RUSSIAN-BRITISH JOURNALIST (voice-over): I was sure I'm going to die in prison. I don't believe what's happening. I still think
it's a I still think I'm sleeping in my prison cell in Omsk.
BASHIR (voice-over): Not all-American nationals held in Russia, however, were released. The family of Marc Fogel, who worked in Russia as a teacher
and was arrested on drug charges in 2021 have expressed their disappointment.
ANNE FOGEL, SISTER OF MARC FOGEL, AMERICAN HELD IN RUSSIA: It's been a roller coaster, no sleep. I feel like we've been kind of collectively
stabbed in the back.
BASHIR (voice-over): In an emotional statement, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said all Americans wrongfully detained remain a
priority.
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Today was very good day. And we're going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from
it for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world.
BASHIR (voice-over): As part of the exchange, eight Russian nationals, including convicted killers and spies were also returned to Moscow,
sparking concern that the deal could strengthen Russia's hand and even encouraged other adversaries to arbitrarily detained foreign nationals as
bargaining chips. But such criticisms have been rejected by Biden.
[09:05:00]
BIDEN: Everybody.
BASHIR (voice-over): And for the those who have anxiously waited for the return of their loved ones including Evan's "Wall Street Journal"
colleagues who campaigned for months for his release. This is a moment of celebration. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson and Kylie Atwood who are both in Washington. Kylie, let's start with you described as a feat of
diplomacy, Joe Biden suggests that it was his relationship with leaders around the world that helped effect this historic release. What further
details do we have about what actually went in behind the scenes into this swap and just how long it took?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, his relationship with many world leaders, but specifically his relationship with German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz. All reporting reveals that the foundation for the deal that we saw come together yesterday, really started to be built in
January, that's when President Biden made a phone call to Olaf Scholz.
He said that when you come and meet with me at the White House, they had a scheduled meeting later that month. One of the things I want to discuss is
Vadim Krasikov, that is, of course, the Former FSB Member who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murdering someone in Berlin in broad daylight.
And previous to the conversations that occurred between Biden and Olaf Scholz in January, Germany had been resistant to actually including Vadim
Krasikov in any sort of larger prisoner swap. But when they did, indeed meet in the Oval Office in the middle of January, according to a senior
administration official, they had a conversation.
And Olaf Scholz said to President Biden, for you, I will do this. And that is really what set off the next eight months of hurried, and challenging
and dynamic efforts to try and put together a deal that included Vadim Krasikov for a larger prisoner swap with these Americans, who were still in
Russia that the U.S. had been working in some cases for years to try and release.
So, then there were months of back and forth between the U.S. and these other countries, Norway, Slovenia included in that to try and see which
other prisoners those countries had of Russia's that they might be able to include. So, this was a really complicated months long effort. But that
relationship between Biden, Olaf Scholz clearly played a central role.
This is absolutely fascinating. And, Nic, let me bring you in, given the complete breakdown of relations between Washington and Moscow since the
start of Russia's war on Ukraine. Why would Russian President Vladimir Putin agree now to a prisoner swap? What are your sources telling you? And
who at the end of the day got the better part of this deal for one of a better phrase?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, I think we're beginning to get clues on that. Because it's only ever clues when you try
to study what's going on inside the Kremlin and study what's going on inside of Vladimir Putin's head and why the timing now.
In essence, what Kylie is reporting there, and what CNN has gathered from the U.S. side really says that it was the product of a huge amount of
effort from both sides to make this happen on the Russian side to hold out for what they wanted. So, the timing, therefore, just seems to be that it
had all come together, the pieces had come together one of the final pieces being the release of two Russian spies who are being held in Slovenia, as
who gets the better part of the deal.
Again, we can interpret that from some of the things that we're beginning to learn here. The fact that Vladimir Putin was on the red carpet at the
runway to greet these returning spies and FSB members. And the thing that we've just learned from the Kremlin in the last few minutes about Vadim
Krasikov, the FSB Colonel, who was who murdered a church and dissident in a park in Berlin.
Was not just that he was an FSB Colonel, he was an FSB Colonel in the Alpha unit, whatever that may be. Now, members of Putin's presidential guard team
are members of the same unit. So, there was a certain knowledge and camaraderie there linking this colonel directly to Putin.
And he was the first one who got off the plane to get a big hug from Putin. He was the first one to get a greeting. So, I think that tells you a lot
there. Putin got a very important FSB prisoner back, a senior player who would be known to the team around him. Let's not forget Putin is fighting a
war in Ukraine that's not wholly popular across Russia.
[09:10:00]
And we don't know but probably not wholly popular within intelligence and military services, as well, he needs and we saw this last year. He needs to
have them strong around him. And that's getting Krasikov back in those terms, that would be important for Putin and he made that point in his
speech.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Nic and Kiley. Appreciate it. We will bring you folks more insight into exactly how this deal developed over the next two
hours. We're going to speak to two foreign ministers of countries involved as we've been reporting there were a number of countries involved in the
next 20 minutes.
The Norwegian Foreign Minister joins me at the top of the next hour his counterpart from Poland, how they came to make this impactful but difficult
choice. While Hamas calling for a day of rage as its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh is buried and mourned in Doha in Qatar.
That funeral is happening this out the days after his assassination, you will remember in Tehran in Iran. Haniyeh who you see here on the right was
heavily involved in the hostage and ceasefire negotiations that have been going on over the last 10 months on Gaza.
But his was not the only high-profile targeted killing. The IDF also killed a senior Hezbollah Commander, the man on the left, he was killed in Lebanon
on Tuesday. And yesterday, it announced the Head of the Military Wing of Hamas had been killed in July.
Well, in the wake of these assassinations very specifically of the assassination of Haniyeh, we've heard threats and promises of retaliation
from various figures across the region. And the White House Security Council Spokesman has just told CNN that the U.S. has heard the message.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: We've heard the Supreme Leader loud and clear that he intends to avenge this killing of a
Hamas leader in Tehran, and that they want to conduct another attack on Israel. We can't just assume that. We are also potentially going to be
victims of that kind of an attack. So, we got to make sure we got the right resources and capabilities in the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Clarissa Ward, live for us in Tel Aviv. And it was very interesting to hear Kirby responding to our colleague's question about what
he thought on the threats from the supreme leader, from the perspective where you are? What happens next at this point?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this stage, Becky, it seems that people are basically in a holding pattern. Everyone
has a strong sense that there is a response coming. It's not clear what that retaliation would look like. Would it be a direct attack from Iran,
like the one that we saw back in April? Would it be a coordinated attack from Iran's various different proxies?
There is definitely not a sort of state of panic here at all. But we are starting to see preparations underway, if you will. We spoke to a hospital
here in Tel Aviv that has cleared out an underground parking lot that can be used potentially, as a makeshift area to treat patients if there is an
attack.
We've also heard from the victory supermarket chain that is reporting a 30 percent increase in sales predominantly of canned goods, toilet paper,
frozen foods. We have also heard from the Jerusalem municipality that has been urging people to prepare and to clean their shelters to make sure that
they can get to a shelter within 90 seconds, which is the allotted time that they have been given to get to a safe place.
And so definitely a sense that people here are getting ready, getting prepared. No panic, as I mentioned, but broadly speaking, regionally, no
question that this is the kind of do or die moment, if you will, where everybody waits, to see sort of on the razor's edge as to whether this
flows up into a much broader regional conflagration or whether the needle can be threaded in terms of finding a response that saves face for Iran and
Hezbollah, but does not prompt a further escalation, Becky.
ANDERSON: On that heightened -- sort of the state of alert will only be exacerbated by Hamas calling for press and a day of rage as we witnessed
the burial of the Hamas political leader of course, he was resident in Doha in Qatar. So that's where we are seeing those images coming into us. This
has been a real, I mean, it's been a remarkable week, really, even within the context of what we've seen over the last 10 months or so.
[09:15:00]
So, the IDF announcing at least three extremely high-profile killings, let's just put this week's events in context, if you will -- you know, and
of course, the context of that. You know, we've heard Kirby's words about just how concerned not just the region, but the U.S. says given its assets
in region.
WARD: I think Becky, there is certainly a lot of frustration that we are hearing quite clearly from the U.S. President Biden yesterday saying it
certainly didn't help the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, in terms of trying to push that ceasefire agreement which multiple parties
including the U.S. have been working so hard for so many months now.
This has really shifted the conversation away from ceasefire, away from negotiations, away from hostage release. And back to an area where it seems
Prime Minister Netanyahu feels more comfortable, which is essentially trying to frame this as a conflict between Israel and its allies and Iran
and its various proxies, the so-called Axis of Resistance.
The U.S. very keen to avoid any kind of a direct confrontation with Iran, very keen to try to keep those ceasefire agreement talks alive, but they
are now hanging in the balance with Hamas' lead negotiator assassinated, and leaving very little clarity as to how this would move forward.
And the Qataris, who have also been a linchpin and main interlocutor in these talks, voicing a huge amount of frustration, that, you know, their
efforts have essentially been -- by the assassination of Haniyeh. So, a lot of frustration from some of Israel's allies and from many others in the
region and a lot of anxiety as to what comes next.
ANDERSON: Clarissa, it's good to have you there. Thank you very much indeed. And let's just be quite clear about their -- has been weighing in
on the potential not for a deal. This is what John Kirby had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRBY: All of this activity in the last few days, it's just too soon to know whether there's going to be a direct effect on our ability to get the
ceasefire deal done. What I will say is that we have a team in the region right now that we continue to have conversations with our counterparts,
including our Israeli counterparts, including last night between the prime minister and the president.
And we believe that this is the best way to get a six-week ceasefire and maybe even work towards the cessation of hostilities. We still believe,
Kate, that the gaps between the sides are definitely closable. They are narrow enough that they can be closed the details or small enough that they
can be hashed out. And we're fully dedicated to getting that over the finish line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: But that finish line seems an awful long way away at present. Meantime outraged and appalled, those words used by the group Reporters
Without Borders. In response to the latest killings of Al Jazeera journalists by Israeli forces in Gaza as this war continues.
Ismail Al-Ghoul seen here on the left and Rami al-Rifee were killed in an airstrike on Wednesday. Israel's military says without providing evidence
that Al-Ghoul was a Hamas military wing operative and recorded attacks against Israeli troops during the October the seventh massacre.
Al Jazeera to its part says quote, this latest attack on Al Jazeera journalists is part of a systematic targeting campaign against the
network's journalists and their families since October 2023. Our Jomana Karadsheh is here with me there is a lot of anger from Al Jazeera,
understandably, journalists not just those who work for the organization, journalists in region and around the world about the deaths, the killings
of these two individuals.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the world has been focused, Becky, over the past week on these major developments in the region, these
two assassinations, but on Wednesday, as you mentioned, Israel killed two Al-Jazeera journalist Ismail who has become a household name.
He's a journalist that so many in the Arab world have followed since October, as he's reported on the war in Gaza. And what happened was all day
that day these two journalists, cameraman Rami Rifee, Ismail Ghoul, who were in Shati refugee camp in Gaza, were reporting from outside the old
neighborhood the house of Ismail Haniyeh.
Following the news of his death, they were on air the entire day. And just as they got in their car as they were leaving, they were hit by an Israeli
strike.
[09:20:00]
The IDF initially did not put out a statement, did not respond to a request for any requests for comment. More than 24 hours later, Becky, they came
out with a statement accusing a hole of being a member of an elite force of Hamas' military wing accusing him of participating in the October 7th
attacks, not saying he was a combatant.
But saying that he took part in the talks, not giving any evidence, not giving more details and say that he instructed other members on how to
record operations against the Israeli military. It's very important to point out here. They provided no evidence that this came out late more than
24 hours later, and who was detained by the Israelis, although they never confirmed it.
That was our reporting. And this is what Al Jazeera says back in March, he was detained by the IDF in Gaza and later released. If these accusations
were true, why was he released? And also, really raises questions, Becky, that we've only heard these accusations after he was killed.
Really raises questions about the extra judicial nature of this and we've heard what Al Jazeera is saying. They're calling for an international
investigation into this and calling these fabrications and saying that the IDF has a history of fabricating evidence, accusations against its
journalists five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Gaza so far and what RSF Reporters Without Borders says is targeted attacks.
ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh with me here in the studio. Jomana, thank you. Well still to come as her campaign announces a history making fundraising
haul. The race to be Kamala Harris's running mate entering its final hours who is in the running and the high stakes veepstakes. More than that, after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Eye popping fundraising numbers announced in the last few hours. Kamala Harris's presidential campaign says it raked in while a remarkable
$310 million in July more than double what Donald Trump's team pulled in, in the same month as everyone waits for Harris's VP announcement.
Trump meanwhile, is doubling down on his attacks on Harris and on President Biden and pouring his -- yet Thursday's historic prisoner swap in a radio
interview he speculated without offering evidence about what the U.S. handed over to get the exchange done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I heard that. I heard he said this, why didn't Trump get him out, and he was
taken during their time. You know, I got out 59 different people, 59, and I didn't pay money. I didn't pay money.
You know, once you do that, these deals are going to happen more and more, because the amount of things including cash that we give up is so
astronomical. This is a big deal. And they allowed some really rough people out, you know that, right? And they did in the first case of Britney Griner
also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:25:00]
ANDERSON: Well CNN's Alayna Treene has the very latest from Washington. Donald Trump and his VP pick J.D. Vance defending those false attacks that
Trump made on Kamala Harris's racial identity recently, then you've just heard from him criticizing without evidence, it seems the work that was
done to release these prisoners. What's the thinking and mood in the Trump camp at present?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, there's a few things. I do want to just be very clear as well that his comments on that radio show were inaccurate.
And you had heard John Kirby, the White House National Security Adviser saying a press briefing yesterday that no money was exchanged. No sanctions
were loosened. In order to have that deal done.
Of course, they did end up doing a prisoner swap. So, Russia was able to have some of their people get out as well. But I will also remind you that
Donald Trump participated in a series of prisoner swaps while president as well, and he did let out other people, for example, in 2019 in a prisoner
swap, some people were released from the Taliban, in an effort to get some U.S. members out of Afghanistan.
So that's just one example of many. So, I want to be very clear there. But this prisoner exchange does undermine Donald Trump's repeated claims that
he could be the only one to get Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan out of Russia. Clearly, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were
able to do that.
I think the timing of it as well, and just the months before the election, has gotten under Donald Trump's skin, and that's why you saw him do that
interview. He also had written similar comments on social media. Now, as for the attacks on Kamala Harris, Donald Trump is not only, you know, not
walking away from those very controversial comments and false claims questioning Harris's heritage, he's doubling and tripling down on them.
And he's also having his running mate, J.D. Vance, defend him on these as well. Now, when I talk to Donald Trump's team about this, they say, look,
they weren't expecting those comments to be made on Wednesday. But now that they have been made, they said he is not going to run away from them, and
that they're going to continue to try to use this as a line of attack this idea that Harris is quote, unquote, phony.
So, I think you can expect more of that in the weeks to come. And really, I think we're seeing Donald Trump revert back to his 2016 playbook as he
tries to figure out how to define Harris. A totally new opponent, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, it's fascinating. And we still await her pick.
TREENE: Exactly.
ANDERSON: Of course, for VP as it were, and we will be back with you as we learn more. Thank you. Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, U.S. employment growth
is slowing more than expected. Why that is rattling investors? Back, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back, I'm Becky Anderson in London. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. 2:30 here. It's 9:30 on the East Coast. And the markets
in the U.S. have just opened they are out of the gate and it is not looking like a pretty picture today investors had been anticipating a lower opening
and art selling off.
You are seeing the DOW's reaction to what have been surprising U.S. jobs numbers for July. Now the U.S. economy added just 114,000 jobs last month
that is far fewer than expected and the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 4.3 percent. Now all of this, adding to concerns that the world's
biggest economy may be slowing down too quickly.
And there's fear on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve may not be acting quickly enough to keep America's job market in good shape. Remember, they
didn't change rates at their last meeting suggesting they might in September. Now all eyes will be back on the Fed. What will they do on rates
to try and ensure that this U.S. economy doesn't slip into the water as it were?
Well back to our top story, that massive prisoner exchange. White House Security Council Spokesman John Kirby spoke to CNN about the details of the
prisoner swap, just a few hours ago. He denied Former President Trump's accusation that money was exchanged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRBY: I would stress that $0 or exchanged in this deal that brought these people home last night, it was all about people to people exchanges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, this massive diplomatic effort included more than two dozen people and seven countries. And it's their leadership of course. Norway was
part of the complex negotiation process returning eight suspected Russian spies posing as an academic as part of the prisoner swap deal.
I want to bring in Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, to discuss this. Described by the White House as a feat of diplomacy, I just want to
ask you to get your sense of how this all came down and how Norway was involved as we understand a very complicated and delicate set of
negotiations.
ESPEN BARTH EIDE, NORWEGIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Absolutely, and indeed, this is actually the most comprehensive, most complex personal risk
change between East and West since the Cold War. These are the kinds of things you see in spy movies or look at that are in books, but actually is
happening now.
And it's quite a feat, because actually eight countries were involved with six countries on the NATO side on the western side, but both Russia and
Belarus were involved, altogether eight. And of course, to agree on this, it was a community process. And then to keep it secret, which was also
important because if one element of this complex chain broke down, the whole thing could unravel.
So, although it was looking good over the last weeks, for those of us who were informed, we were always nervous that something could happen at the
last moment, but actually it went well. And it was carried through and it was as Kirby just said, this is actually a person-to-person exchange 60 in
Russian human rights activist and Russian journalist and some international journalist exchange for eight people who were apprehended in Western
countries.
And one of them was Mikhail Mikushin, who was -- who pretended to be a Brazilian guest researcher in a university in Northern Norway, but who was
actually an illegalist -- he was Russian who had been prepared for decades for this role to pretend that he was somebody else and this is one of the
most important assets.
ANDERSON: Right.
[09:35:00]
EIDE: The Russian -- time to build him so it was quite a feat to arrest him and -- his activities.
ANDERSON: How tougher choice was this to make returning a Russian spy arrested in Norway?
EIDE: Well, you know, of course, there are dilemmas involved. And normally you would expect to take him to trial and get, you know, get sort of a case
closed on that. But actually, we decided to fit him into this broad package, because we saw that what we could contribute to, was to do the
release of very important Russians.
Of course, we who have a serious concern about the Russian leadership and President Putin, we want to remain friends with the Russian people. And of
course, for that reason, we want to support forces we would like to have rule of law and democracy and freedom of speech in Russia. So, to
contribute to that is a value for Norway.
ANDERSON: Right.
EIDE: And secondly, we could prove that we are a good friend and a good ally of our closest partners.
ANDERSON: Yeah. And Joe Biden and talking about the importance of international diplomacy last night, and I'm sure that is an important
message to you and from you, just to confirm here, that Donald Trump has made some accusations about this being more than a people to people
exchange. To your mind, from the position that you are sitting in, was any money exchanged?
EIDE: No money exchanged, this was person to person exchange, 16 people that were held by Russia and including Belarus and eight people on the
western side. That's the totality of the package. And I am absolutely not aware of any kind of money and I don't think there is accusations are right
at all. I think what Kirby just said is absolutely true.
ANDERSON: Yeah, Donald Trump, of course, providing absolutely no evidence for his supposition. It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much,
indeed, for joining us.
EIDE: Thank you very much for your --
ANDERSON: -- and congratulations on your involvement in part played in the successful swap. Thank you.
EIDE: Thank you very much.
ANDERSON: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well -- let me start again. 3d printing has evolved rapidly over the past decade boosting efficiency and sustainability across many
industries particularly in the UAE -- in our latest episode of "Think Big". See how Dubai has taken this tech to the next level.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): For centuries, this creek has been the beating heart of the City of Dubai and the small wooden boats known as
Abras were the lifeline, transporting goods and people across the busy waters.
[09:40:00]
As Dubai has grown these boats have become a key tourist attraction. 80 percent of their passengers are visitors to the city. Today, these iconic
vessels are having a facelift.
AHMED BAHROZYAN, CEO OF ROADS & TRANSPORT AUTHORITY: 3d printing Dubai is growing very fast. And we need to really cater for people who are living or
visiting these projects to ensure that they have a way of getting from point A to point B using water transport. At the same time, we wanted to
preserve the heritage of the city and we want to preserve the look and feel of the traditional Abra.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Shipbuilding can negatively impact the environment. But 3d printing could offer a sustainable solution by being
cheaper, faster and using recyclable materials. "The World Economic Forum" notes that this technology can significantly reduce manufacturing costs and
time across various industries. For the Abra, Bahrozyan says it cuts manufacturing time by 90 percent.
BAHROZYAN: -- take four months to build an Abra with the 3d printed Abra took us exactly a week to do it. So really splash the manufacturing time.
At the same time the material that uses fully reusable material it's made of reinforced glass fiber, which is very flexible at the same time very
efficient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): In addition to less production time, the Abras also produced less carbon emissions with 10 kilowatt electric motors
and lithium batteries. Bahrozyan says they want to make all water transportation sustainable in the near future.
BAHROZYAN: We have approximately 186 Abras right now, operating across the different sides of the creek. We have right now about 17 electric Abras,
they operate in different parts of the city. This one is the first electric vessel that's been created from 3d printing completely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Well, 3d printing is novel to the maritime industry. Companies and other startups around the world are experimenting
with this technology.
FAHMI ALSHAWWA, CEO OF IMMENSA: So additive manufacturing and 3d printing have been around for over 30 years. However, we've seen adoption rapidly
increase over the last five years because of the convergence of three things in material science, computing power and specialization.
Today, you see a lot more specialization and you've seen sort of the adoption go from a couple of 100 million dollars a year up to a couple of
billion dollars. Growth rates have been double digits for the last five years when we look at other sectors such as mobility, automotive -- we just
are at the beginning of the adoption and we're seeing much more application into it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): While Dubai is setting its sights and making a splash in its water transport sector this is just the start of a
wider plan to expand the city's maritime network and increase its passenger capacity by over 22 million by 2030.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, you're back with CONNECT THE WORLD and we've got WORLD SPORTS coming up for you from Paris and your roundup of the Olympics that's
after this short break. Join me for the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD after that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
