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Israeli Ministry Warns of "Unprecedented Attack"; Trump Says Putin "Has Gone Absolutely Crazy" in Post; Trump Wants Administration to Vet Harvard Foreign Student; CNN Speaks to Egyptian Investment Minister; Euroleague Basketball Final Four. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired May 26, 2025 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene in Jerusalem as Israeli nationalists gather for an annual march marking

Israel's takeover of the eastern part of that city, risking inflaming tensions that are, of course, already sky high. It's 04:00 p.m. in

Jerusalem. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East Programming Headquarters.

This is "Connect the World". Also coming up this hour. U.S. President Trump calling Russian President Putin absolutely crazy after the largest Russian

drone strikes on Ukraine since this war began. And Mr. Trump delaying his plans for 50 percent tariffs on the EU in the latest episode of the trade

war whiplash.

More on those stories coming up. Let's start with the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, which could become even worse. Israel has ordered the

evacuation of a huge swathe of the enclave surrounding Khan Yunis, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the south.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military says the attack will be, quote, unprecedented. We've got our assets in Jerusalem live for you today. Bureau

Chief Oren Liebermann standing by. We've also got CNN's Nada Bashir in London. She is watching what is going on in Gaza and what is happening with

regard aid, and we're going to get to you momentarily, Nada.

Oren, I do want to start with you, because you're out covering the Jerusalem Day marches. Let's just for -- first, get our viewers up to speed

on this warning from the military, if you will.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The map itself, Becky is unprecedented that was issued just a short time ago by the Israeli

military's Arabic spokesperson, an evacuation order for much of Southern Gaza, and that's all the way up from the Egypt-Gaza border, known as the

Philadelphia quarter, which has been occupied by Israeli forces for months now.

All the way up covering the City of Khan Yunis, and even north of that, including much of Eastern Gaza, the City of Khan Yunis itself a densely

packed city, made even more so by the Palestinians who have been displaced there from evacuation orders we have seen earlier in the war that warning

comes, or rather that order comes ahead of what IDF Arabic language spokesperson Avichai Edraei says will be an unprecedented attack on that

area.

And that forces Palestinians there to move to the Al Mawasi area, a narrow strip of land right along the beach there, ahead of the attack. So, we will

certainly keep you updated as we see that unfolding here. They say that's because of rocket launches that came earlier today.

The IDF says it was three rockets that were launched, two that landed inside of Gaza, one that was intercepted before it crossed into Israeli

territory. An Israeli military also tells -- an Israeli military official also tells us that with the expanded military operation, the five Israeli

divisions inside of Gaza, the plan is occupy fully 75 percent of Gaza's territory, three quarters of the coastal enclave, within the next two

months, and that will force Palestinians there into an ever-shrinking area of land.

Becky, let me bring it out here quickly to what we're looking at with the Jerusalem Day Flag March, which we're expecting. I have to tell you, it has

actually been delayed, we understand, for at least an hour, if not more, because of the heat today. But you can see the crowd beginning to gather

here, several 100 Israelis here, holding some flags, chanting religious or nationalist chants.

This is just a fraction of what we will see later in the day as the flag march comes in here, into the Damascus Gate, into the Muslim Quarter of the

Old City. So of course, we will keep you updated on that as well.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you, Oren. Let's get you to London. Nada has been monitoring exactly what is going on in Gaza. It's been

devastating few weeks. Overnight, we saw another strike on Gaza city that has killed 20 and this comes as only, of course, a trickle of humanitarian

aid has made it into the enclave now, the head of a U.S. backed aid group has resigned very publicly.

[09:05:00]

This is Jake Wood's. I know that you've been monitoring what he has been saying.

So just get us up to speed on what is going on the ground and with regard aid at this point.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is certainly a significant development. The resignation of Jake Wood who was set to head up the Gaza

humanitarian Foundation, which would oversee a mechanism essentially to distribute aid within Gaza.

This was a U.S. backed, or is a U.S. backed and Israeli backed initiative, but it has drawn fierce criticism and backlash from a number of

humanitarian organizations, including U.N. agencies, which have long overseen the distribution of aid in Gaza long before the war.

Of course, the vast majority of Gaza population has always been highly dependent on humanitarian aid facilitated by U.N. agencies and other

humanitarian organizations. Now, essentially, this mechanism had sought to establish what has been described as secure distribution points that had

raised concern around the possibility of civilians being forcibly displaced to other locations within Gaza as a result and other security and

logistical concerns.

But we've heard from Jake Wood, who was set to head this foundation, who has said in a statement about his resignation, saying that it is clear that

it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and

independence, which I will not abandon.

Now, of course, this comes along the backdrop of a continued push for more aid to enter the Gaza Strip. As you mentioned, we have seen some aid trucks

being allowed into Gaza after that announcement was made by the Israeli Prime Minister's office that they would allow a basic amount of food into

Gaza to prevent an all-out hunger crisis.

According to COGAT, the Israeli agency which oversees the shipment of aid into the Gaza Strip. 107 trucks passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing on

Sunday. But of course, that is a fraction of the number of trucks that U.N. agencies say need to come through to Gaza every single day in a normal

situation, not just in wartime situations.

So, we're looking at about 500 to 600 trucks being the goal, according to humanitarian organizations, that is clearly not where we're at, yet clearly

not where we're expected to be even in the coming weeks, despite that mounting pressure for Israel to ramp up the amount of humanitarian aid,

including food and vital medicines and humanitarian relief supplies to access the Gaza Strip.

And as Oren mentioned, we're seeing more evacuation orders. Of course, we've seen yet more deadly airstrikes as Israel continues to expand its

military operation on the ground and in the air. At least 20 people killed overnight in yet another deadly strike, this time targeting central Gaza.

The Israeli defense forces say that they were targeting a Hamas command and control center, accusing Hamas and Islamic Jihad of embedding in civilian

infrastructure in areas, but again, no evidence has been provided of this. Important to note that the area that was targeted a school which had been

turned into a shelter for displaced civilians, as are almost all schools now in Gaza still remaining in the Gaza Strip.

At least 20 people killed. Health authorities in Gaza state, the vast majority of them were women and children. And while 20 victims have been

identified, doctors at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital where many of the killed and wounded were taken, say that there were some bodies that they

simply weren't able to identify body parts arriving in plastic bags as a result of that airstrike, which left parts of the school engulfed in

flames.

And we have seen distressing video emerging from the aftermath. So, Becky. It is an increasingly desperate situation for civilians as we continue to

see those further calls for more aid to get in.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

BASHIR: But of course, this military operation is only set to continue to expand.

ANDERSON: Appreciate it. Thank you very much, and to both of you, thank you. Well, stay with us. Next hour, one emergency room doctor in Khan Yunis

is used to seeing the horrors of war, but on Friday, the charred bodies that arrived were her own children.

I'm going to bring you that story, one that has gripped the world. Well, to Donald Trump's blunt criticism of Russia's President after the largest

Russian missile and drone attacks in Ukraine since the start of this three- year war. The U.S. President posting, I quote him here.

I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely crazy. Exclamation

mark. Well, this follows comments the president made to reporters about Putin. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm not happy with what Putin is doing. He's killing a lot of people. And I don't know what

the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time. Always gotten along with him, but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I

don't like it at all.

OK. We're in the middle of talking, and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:10:00]

ANDERSON: Well, He also criticized Ukraine's President in that same post. You said, quote, America's silence and the silence of others in the world

is encouraging Putin's onslaught. Well, in response, Mr. Trump saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy is doing himself no favors with his comments.

Well, over the weekend, Russia launched hundreds of missiles and drones into Ukraine, killing at least 29 people across the country. The aerial

assault coming despite the largest prisoner swap of the war. Let's get you more on this. I'm joined by Nigel Gould-Davies.

He is the Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also been an ambassador in the past, not least for

Belarus. I mean, you know this region extremely well, sir, and it's good to have you. You and I have spoken on numerous occasions over the past, what,

three years now.

And I just want to get your analysis then, to begin with, on Donald Trump's post and tone, what did you make of what he wrote?

NIGEL GOULD-DAVIES, SENIOR FELLOW FOR RUSSIA AND EURASIA AT IISS: More words, more words, without any sign that concrete action expressing his

unhappiness with Putin will follow. We've been here before. A few weeks ago, he again tweeted out on social media, Vladimir stop and he didn't

stop.

The same thing is happening. None of the things that Trump suggested might happen as a consequence, more severe sanctions in particular followed from

that. So as a fellow Brit, Becky, you'll be familiar with the phrase all mouth and no trousers.

And it remains a source of puzzlement that, while Trump is ready to impose pressure on Ukraine, as he has done recently, he still startlingly, does

nothing to back up any of his words against Russia with deeds. And until that happens, the war will continue.

ANDERSON: Indeed, he, in fact, regularly talks about the economic opportunities that he can afford Russia and that Russia might afford the

U.S. were there to be a resolution to this. If reality is somewhat sinking in them, for Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin, it seems, does not want

peace. What will the impact of the U.S. stepping away from peace talks be as they have, of course, repeatedly threatened to do.

GOULD-DAVIES: Well, the first thing is to say just on sort of trade opportunities that is something that Putin really isn't terribly interested

in. He likes to dangle those carrots before the United States to try to induce an easing of sanctions. But it's not a goal in and of itself,

something that might encourage Putin to end the war.

It's not that economics are terribly important to him in this respect. It's also puzzling that Trump should put such storm by this. It makes sense to

treat economics as a goal in foreign policy. You can see that with the Middle East visit recently, but Russia is less than 3 percent of the global

economy.

Has very little to offer, and the main potential projects would be oil and gas, which America is now a major exporter on. So that would make Russia a

more effective competitor to the United States in world markets. Now to the question about stepping away, but it all depends on what that means.

If stepping away means simply that the United States turns its back on the war and no longer seeks to play a mediating role, then the war will

continue as before. It's incumbent on Europe to step up and provide the forms of support that America has provided up till now, Europe has provided

a lot, it can provide a lot more.

But if stepping away means trying some way to normalize its relationship bilaterally with Russia and to lift sanctions and to return to some kind of

status quo. Well, that gives Russia all of the benefits and reward of a normal relationship, but it removes all conceivable incentive to come to

the negotiating table.

ANDERSON: Right. Nigel the Kremlin downplaying Trump's comments, calling them emotional reactions. How do you see the Kremlin navigating this latest

phase?

GOULD-DAVIES: I think the lesson that the Kremlin can draw from Donald Trump's very consistent failure to back up his words with deeps is that

this can be safely ignored.

[09:15:00]

It's another outburst. America will not change its policy in any significant way hostile to Russia. Certainly, the White House won't do

that. The thing to watch now, I think, is what is brewing in Congress, especially the Senate. We have Lindsey Graham having developed what he says

is essentially a veto proof majority for a severe new sanctions bill.

So, we may possibly see the action coming from this that we are failing to see from the White House. So that's, I think, the thing that the Kremlin

will focus on now.

ANDERSON: Right. That's fascinating, and it's good to have you as ever. Thank you, Nigel. Well, still to come on CNN, President Donald Trump, then

voicing optimism about U.S. talks with Iran. Tehran, well, it may be striking a different tone. And just as we leave you to go to break, I want

to bring you these incredible pictures live from Hawaii, the Kilaueu volcano erupting right now.

The U.S. geological survey said lava fountains exceeded 300 meters on Sunday. Current eruption has been going on for months, but we don't often

have these incredible live pictures, so I will leave those with you. See you on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well U.S. President Donald Trump says U.S. negotiators made, and quote me, real progress during nuclear talks with Iran over the weekend.

The fifth round of indirect talks mediated by Omani officials, this time in Rome. Mr. Trump says he'd love to reach a deal with Iran so that a military

strike could be avoided. Here is more from the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've had some very, very good talks with Iran. And I don't know if I'll be telling you anything good or bad over the next two days, but I have

a feeling I might be telling you something good. We've had some real progress, serious progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran. He's following the story for us from there, and you interviewed the Iranian Foreign Ministry

Spokesman earlier today. What is the Iranian perspective of these weekend talks then, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, and I did that right as those comments from President Trump were coming,

essentially fresh off the printing press, or fresh as he was saying those to reporters there after stepping off that helicopter.

And certainly, if we've been listening to the Iranians over the past couple of weeks, and also after the past couple of days, after those talks took

place in Rome, they were still saying that they were quite disappointed by some of the things that they had heard from the Trump Administration,

especially regarding the enrichment of Uranium, which, of course, the Iranians have said is a red line for that.

[09:20:00]

And I did for them, and I did put that to the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, and he essentially told me that right now, the Iranians seem to

be a little more upbeat, and they also appear to think that the Trump Administration maybe understands them a little better than it did before.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ESMAIL BAQAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: If the intention is to make sure that Iran's nuclear program would not be weaponized, I think

that's something that we could simply do it. But if the intention is to deprive Iranians of their right to offer peaceful nuclear energy, I think

that would be very problematic, to the extent that I think it would really challenge the whole process.

PLEITGEN: Do you think the Trump Administration and negotiator Witkoff have acknowledged that understand that?

BAQAEI: The fact that so far, we have continued our talks means that we understand there is certain level of understanding that Iran cannot, under

any circumstances, give up its right to peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment.

PLEITGEN: How do you think a compromise can be reached?

BAQAEI: I think if really there is a way, there is ways. There is not only one way, there are so many ways to take care of that. As far as we are

concerned, because we know our nuclear program is absolutely peaceful, and we have committed ourselves to make sure that the program will remain

peaceful.

PLEITGEN: President Trump also seems to insinuate that the alternative to an agreement could be military action by the U.S. and Israel. Do you feel

that pressure in the negotiations? And how does Iran feel about such threats?

BAQAEI: That would be certainly not helpful. You know, Iranians would not be conducive to any sort of pressure. We have proved so many times for the

past century and beyond that, that Iranians would not respond positively to any sort of cohesion or treasure. So, when it comes to using that language,

Iranians will come with one voice, and we will certainly defend our national security.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: So, there you can see the Iranian spokesman for the foreign ministry, Becky, saying, where there is a will, there are ways. So clearly

the Iranians believe that right now, those talks are still worthwhile. One of the things, by the way, that I also spoke to him about was the sort of

communication that the Iranians had been complaining about coming from the Trump Administration.

Where they, at times, have felt that things that were said within the negotiations were then portrayed differently, especially by President

Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, especially some of those remarks that he made regarding nuclear enrichment by the Iranians, where he said that the

U.S. would not tolerate that.

The Iranians were saying that at this last round of talks that took place this weekend in Rome, that they felt the communication was much more

professional, much better, that the positions were very much calibrated. So, at the very least, the two sides seem to be speaking on a level where

each of them understands where the other side is. And now, of course, the difficult thing is finding that compromise to try and then move forward

towards an agreement, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Thank you. Well, the French President dismissing a startling moment caught in camera between him and his wife.

Now this video shows the moment Emmanuel Macron appeared to be shoved in the face by his wife after they touched down in Vietnam.

While we don't see Brigitte Macron, we do see her hand as she pushes her husband before he waves to cameras below. Mr. Macron denies any drama and

says the pair were only joking around. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.

And North Korea has arrested four people in connection to its failed warship launch last week. That's according to state run media. Kim Jong Un

called the botched launch a criminal act, after the accident left the country's newest 5000-ton destroyer toppled on its side under a blue awning

there and partially submerged in a shipyard.

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla kicking off a royal visit to Canada with a two-day trip. On Tuesday, Charles will open Canadian

Parliament with a speech from the throne, as it's called in the Senate chamber. The trip seen as a highly symbolic one, showing his support for

Canada during strained relations with the United States.

President Trump wants his administration to check out every foreign student at Harvard to quote, find out whether or not they are OK. Trump says

foreign students should not be nearly a quarter of the enrollment. Harvard sued the administration after its recent ban on foreigners attending them.

A judge has temporarily halted that ban.

[09:25:00]

Well, ahead on "Connect the World", a very nice call, that is, how Donald Trump is describing his chats with EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen, a look at

what that could mean for Europe amid tariff threats. And I've been asking one of Egypt's top ministers how uncertainty as a result of Trump's tariff

and trade policies could impact his country as it works to attract more foreign investment. All of that is after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching "Connect the World". It is just after, just before, half past five in the

afternoon here. U.S. President Donald Trump walking back threats on the European Union. He now says that he is delaying a planned 50 percent tariff

on European goods until July the ninth.

That was a big threat last week. This comes after a phone call with the European Commission president. You see her on the left there, Ursula von

der Leyen, who says Europe is ready to negotiate. So, it looks like a bit of a breather, potentially for Europe. Let's do a deep dive on this.

We've CNN's Clare Sebastian, and she joins us now. Let's be quite clear about this. Do we understand why the change of heart by President Trump,

and what detail do we have on that quote, very nice call, as he described it?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we don't have a lot of detail on that call, Becky. The EU Commission was asked about this in a briefing this

morning, and they wouldn't provide any more sort of details on what was discussed beyond to say that the achievement was to fast track the

negotiations and said there was a new impetus behind them now.

And I think to be clear, what that call achieved was only a partial reversal of the escalation that we saw from U.S. President Trump last week.

They have pushed the deadline back to the original deadline that that 90 days pause achieved of July 9, but we understand that the 50 percent tariff

is still on the table.

So more than double the original threat from the Trump Administration of a 20 percent tariff on all EU goods. So that may explain the new impetus, of

course, behind negotiations, and we understand that EU trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, it will be speaking to U.S. Commerce Secretary, Howard

Lutnick, this afternoon

So, contacts are now continuing and at a pretty high level, but obviously a 50 percent tariff would be a huge problem for the EU, and especially

sectors that export heavily to the U.S., pharmaceuticals, aerospace and things like that. So, I think the question now is, what will the EU do?

What can they offer the Trump Administration to prevent any further escalation and to advance these talks towards a deal? An EU spokesperson

told Reuters today that a zero -- for zero tariff proposal that was floated in April by EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen is still on the table.

[09:30:00]

We may see some kind of gesture to bring down that hated trade deficit in goods between the two countries, perhaps increased LNG purchases or things

like that. We're not sure, but I think it's clear that the Trump Administration number one would accept potential gestures.

President Trump saying over the weekend that if someone wants to build a plant, he could look at talking about a further delay, and of course, we

saw with the U.S.-U.K. trade deal that while certain sectors got carve outs, the 10 percent tariff remained in place. So, I think the EU will be

realistic about what it can achieve in the next 44 days.

So, look a sigh of relief potentially from the markets today, they have rebounded in Europe to where they were before this threat came out from

President Trump on Friday, but I think it's not a full sigh of relief this episode reconfirming that sudden shock moves are still possible from the

Trump Administration, and this roller coaster ride continues, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much. Well, earlier, I sat down with the Egyptian Investment Minister to talk about his mission to

drive more foreign investment to Egypt. He's been a key presence at the U.S.-Egypt policy leaders forum in Cairo, which is happening this week.

This is a platform for boosting that economic partnership, a bilateral trade relationship that already accounts for $8.6 billion but Egypt's

ambitions don't stop there. The country has seen a significant slowdown in inflation. And GDP growth that has been described by the IMF as very

positive after years of real economic pain.

When we spoke, I started by asking what success looks like to him in terms of foreign direct investment for Egypt and a new infusion from the private

sector. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HASSAN ELKHATIB, EGYPTIAN INVESTMENT MINISTER: Number one, I think we need to communicate the changes we're doing, because we are in a transition.

Second, we're going to put sectors in front of investors the potential our tourism. Last year, we hit the record.

But this record, you would know, Becky, is a fraction of the potential, almost 16 million, 15.8 million tourists. We can double that number, but

that doubling require investors. We require number of rooms, logistics, ecosystem, airports, transportation, everything, and this is a huge

potential of investments.

That's tourism. Take health care, we need to double the number of hospital beds by 2030, 150,000 beds are needed through a PPP program that is ready.

If you take renewable energy, we need for the industry needs between now and 2040, 65 gigawatts.

90 percent of which will be renewable, solar and wind. And all of what everything I said now is open for the private sector, 100 percent for the

private sector.

ANDERSON: So let me put this question to you, the private sector has been hampered for years by heavy military involvement in the economy. Can you be

clear about that privatization plan?

ELKHATIB: The solar fund in any place in the world, is a source for again, you have you run companies better, you have proceeds to support the budget

deficit and to keep part for the future generation. Bring the private sector management to run these companies, partner with the private sector,

open the book on the equity book of some of the companies that we have in our books, to international companies, international banks, to help us

transition into what we need.

The digital transformation, the technological transformation, the artificial intelligence transformation that we need in some of those

stocks, and that's what we want. And we're committed to level the playing field. And once again, our determination, you mentioned 60 percent our

administration.

ANDERSON: 65.

ELKHATIB: Our target is actually 75 to 80 percent private sector share in the investments, and by 2030 and I hope we achieve it prior to that.

ANDERSON: Trump's trade and tariff rhetoric causing global uncertainty. How concerned are you about that?

ELKHATIB: We feel that we are so competitive as an industrial hub for experts in a wider region. Egypt is centered in three continents, and we're

at great opportunity to be the hub for industry and expert on this is to free trade. The reality of the matter is, we've been real, at least

diagnosing our issue on trade for many years as an import problem.

But the reality, I can confirm, it is an export problem. Our export to GDP is tiny vis a vis our potential, only 10 percent. Our import is around 20

percent. So, what we're doing so far is, I want to be top 50 in trade competitiveness within couple of years. That's the immediate target.

ANDERSON: -- that's ambitious.

ELKHATIB: So more importantly, are you back sorry to finally.

ANDERSON: -- go --

ELKHATIB: On the U.S. side, what I'm doing is, I am eliminating all the non-tariff barriers that are there historically between us and the U.S.

[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: What do you expect the impact of the ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis to be on trade, and what does the Suez Canal Economic Zone

look like in terms of investment opportunities?

ELKHATIB: We're pleased with the ceasefire that has been announced, but so far, they're still, you know, the ship liners. They need to --

ANDERSON: We haven't seen that increase in trade --

ELKHATIB: Not yet, because we're talking weeks or less to that effect. But we're cautiously optimistic. The Suez Canal Economic Zone is a

fantastically created. So, the last, as I mentioned, 10 years, we've been expanding our ports, capacity, efficiency management by international

companies, port operators, so we are ready, and that's one of the key messages that we will communicate with our U.S. partners.

ANDERSON: Let's talk about U.S.-China trade and the impact that, that trade war could have on investments in Egypt, especially given that Chinese

investments in the Suez Canal economic zone now exceed what $3 billion. Are you going to need to choose a side?

ELKHATIB: No, I again, we're not in a game of choosing a side here or there. We want to attract the right investments. Egypt is ready. The cost

advantages of Egypt today, is way cheaper than any country within that broader three continents that we are in, and that's where we want to

localize industry.

We want to build hubs for industry that can utilize Egypt. Egypt is a major gateway to Africa, which is a continent with a huge potential, and we're

working extensively to open Africa through logistical hubs, to have the banking networks who have the export guarantees.

We have that embedded. We have the EU partnership. We have the Arab Partnership Agreement, with our partnership agreement on the chase side,

any company that operates in Egypt opens 70 markets with a free trade agreement.

ANDERSON: How do you ensure that the progress that you are making is cascading down to the middle- and lower-income households in Egypt who have

had such a tough time?

ELKHATIB: We're very conscious about an inclusive growth. It has to be inclusive, because that's what we've suffered from before. You need to have

that inclusion. You have to have a social safety net that really absorb and takes care of the wide majority.

ANDERSON: What's being done.

ELKHATIB: It's about, again, what we need to do is to attract the investment. We need to create jobs. Jobs means investments. You need to

attract FDI. The levels of FDI that we would want to attract are much more than what we're getting today. So, it goes back to the business

environment. You have a safety net. We have many programs to support this. This is the highest priority of government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That is the Egyptian Investment Minister speaking to me here recently. Well, still to come, the best of European basketball comes here

to Abu Dhabi for the very first time and there. Well, their fans brought a lot of noise with them. I got to witness that firsthand, that is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: -- Abu Dhabi --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well for the first time that rowdy European basketball culture comes here to Abu Dhabi. And well, Emirati fans could not get enough of it.

I was lucky enough to get courtside over the weekend for the Fab Four finals. And it was one unforgettable atmosphere, along with some quality

basketball Fenerbahce crowned Euro league champions for the second time in club history, defeating Monaco in what was the final in an absolute nail

biter.

It wasn't the only place where basketball was the sport of choice over the weekend. Amanda Davies joining us, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Becky, we're at that point in the sporting year, aren't we, where we're really spoiled for choice, so much

going on in Indianapolis in the United States.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

DAVIES: We had the Knicks teaching the Indiana Pacers a lesson in their own backyard just hours after the Indy 500 the winner of the Indy 500 Alex

Palou, actually made it from the track having drunk his milk to the court with his wreath round his neck to celebrate that success.

But that was all coming just hours after the Monaco Grand Prix. We had the climax to the Premier League season, and already we're on to the next the

French Open Tennis is well underway, so it's one of those truly wonderful periods of time to be alive and be a sports fan, and we'll try and bring as

much of it as we can in the next couple of minutes in "World Sports".

ANDERSON: Let me tell you, the Fenerbahce fans were very, very, very noisy. You couldn't hear if there were any Monaco fans. You couldn't hear them.

But I was talking to somebody in the team here, and they said they were probably all in Monaco watching the Grand Prix, and that's probably the

case, because they certainly not a rowdy crowd anyway.

Listen all that coming up in "World Sport". Can't wait. We will be back in 15 minutes with more "Connect the World".

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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