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Quest Means Business

Israel-UAE Deal Sparks Hope Of New Trade Opportunities; Biden Calls For Three-Month National Mask Mandate; Spain's COVID-19 Spike Worst In Western Europe; Sixt Lays Out Plans For Post-Pandemic Growth; S&P 500 Aiming Again To Close At Record High; Israel-UAE Deal Sparks Hope Of New Trade Opportunities; Call to Earth: Protecting India's Lakes and Ponds. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 13, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:14]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: An hour before the end of trading on Wall Street and the way the markets are trading, it

looks like we might be heading for a record high.

Not there yet, but we might be heading for a record high in terms S&P and the NASDAQ. Those are the markets. That's the way they are looking and

these are the reasons why.

Israel and the UAE promise to open up their economies as part of a momentous peace deal.

Europe's summer holiday season is getting more restricted. I will be speaking to Portugal's Tourism Minister.

And the number of U.S. jobless claims may still be dire, but at least, it is now less than one million a week.

Live from New York, on Thursday, it is August the 13th. We have a busy hour ahead of us, you and me. I am Richard Quest, and yes, I mean business.

Good evening to you. Tonight, momentous news from the Middle East as Israel and the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, that includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai

agree to a form of peace agreement that would allow the opening up of commerce, tourism, and the exchanging of embassies. They are going to agree

to open up diplomatic ties.

The deal was announced by President Trump. In doing so, Israel will suspend -- and that word is crucial -- suspend the annexation of the West Bank. The

UAE, it becomes the first Gulf State to normalize relations. They will then strengthen coalitions against Iran. It is a political win for Benjamin

Netanyahu, and for Donald Trump, a rare diplomatic win in an area where he has made such promise and said he would be doing so much.

They are already touting the benefits of this in terms of the trade, and the bilateral trade that will take place. Energy, tourism, direct flights,

possibly links El Al, the two Gulf carriers such as Emirates or Etihad.

Telecoms and of course technology, Israel being the original start-up nation.

The official Twitter account in Arabic for the State of Israel on their Twitter feed, it read "The Tel Aviv municipality building was lit up in the

colors of the Emirati flag after the decision of a full formal peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates." Now, you see it there. That

is always used -- the lighting on that building.

Remember just a couple of weeks ago, they used the flag of Lebanon. It is always used as a symbol of official Israeli policy in terms of other

nations.

Now, as we move on, Elliott Gotkine is with us from Tel Aviv. First of all, the reaction in Tel Aviv as it's seen at the moment.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Richard, I think many people in the country were surprised and very pleasantly surprised to see this announcement

earlier today that Israel is going to be signing a Peace Agreement and have full normalization with the United Arab Emirates.

There has been a kind of rapprochement behind the scenes, and indeed, there was even an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper a few months ago by the Emirates

Ambassador to the United States warning that this warming of ties that has been happening would kind of come to a juddering halt were Israel to go

ahead with its plans for annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank.

So, it is known that there kind of talks behind the scenes, but I don't think anyone expected this kind of -- this diplomatic coup both for

President Trump and also Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

QUEST: Now, business, trade, technology, tourism, very much driving this - - I would say the principle, obviously, peace is the principle deal. But the driving force is a realization, is it not -- and you have been covering

the business in Israel for many years.

Business recognizes with the UAE. They could be a very powerful force.

GOTKINE: Very much so, Richard. As you know, the United Arab Emirates and Israel are probably the two most dynamic economies in the region.

In fact, interesting enough, GDP per capita is pretty much the same, around $43,000.00. They both have their strengths in different areas. They are

both very strong militarily and also in terms of military production. The UAE is obviously very big in tourism, accounting for more than a tenth of

the economy, around about three percent of the Israeli economy.

And the prospect of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi is obviously something that I am sure being an aviation buff, you will

appreciate. Israelis will be very happy to have another opportunity to fly another airline to the Emirates and perhaps beyond to the rest of the

world.

[15:05:50]

GOTKINE: And one of the more significant parts of this announcement, Richard was talk of the United Arab Emirates immediately expand and in its

words accelerating cooperation regarding the treatment and development of a vaccine for coronavirus, something that many Israeli technology companies

had been looking at doing and this suggests that there will be collaboration on that front and that the UAE will be investing in that with

Israel to try to develop a vaccine as quickly as people.

But as you mentioned, as well, other areas of collaboration. They talked about trade, energy, and technology. So, really, it seems like a win-win

for both countries.

QUEST: And that win-win, Elliott, thank you. Elliott Gotkine, thank you, that win-win was put very clearly by the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the

UAE, Anwar Gargash.

Becky Anderson spoke to him, and he made it clear that this deal is like the equivalent of defusing a bomb.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANWAR GARGASH, UAE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: So there was a long, I would say, internal dialogue and a dialogue also with the Americans of how

can we do it? Is it the right moment? And I think we figured out there is never a right moment here. There is never a right moment.

But at the same time, if we really get this commitment, it will be like defusing a time bomb on the two-state solution.

As I said, ultimately, the solution is in the hands of the Palestinians, in the hands of the Israelis, and we urge them to go back to the negotiating

table. We know that prospects are dim right now. But we hope that through this, we can actually achieve something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: So that's the way the Foreign Minister looks at it. Achieving peace will open up perhaps some of the most dramatic opportunities. Arguably from

an economic point of view, this is a greater deal than others that have been done.

Well, for instance, two wealthy nations historically cut off. The UAE's economic boycott against Israel since 1971 has been founded then. Now,

there have been no trade relations, no direct travel, not even phone calls between the two, which is somewhat absurd when you try to make an

international phone call from one to the other. It becomes sometimes simply bizarre.

Israelis need entry permits to visit the UAE, and Israeli planes are not allowed into UAE air space.

The potential economic benefits of these two countries coming together was not lost on the Israeli Prime Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel and the UAE are two of the most advanced countries in the world. Together, we will transform the

region and forge an even better future for our people.

This is a future of peace, a future of security, and a future of prosperity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: So, to the ambassador -- Israel's outgoing Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon who joins me now.

Mr. Ambassador, thank you. It is good to see you. Let us just agree at the beginning, we don't need to repeat the historic nature of today's deal.

Instead, let me put it to you that if Israel does at some point go ahead with the annexation of West Bank settlements, then it's all off. The UAE

believes, essentially, that you have called it off.

DANNY DANON, ISRAEL'S OUTGOING AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: So, we welcomed the agreement. After signing with Egypt, Jordan, and now the UAE,

Richard, I think in the next few days, you will hear about another important country of the Gulf announcing the recognition of Israel.

So we are happy about it. I don't think there should be a linkage to the idea of applying sovereignty over some of the Jewish community in Jordan

and Samaria, I think it is beneficial for both of us.

I have visited the UAE in the past and when I spoke with the officials there, they focused on the issue of Iran, the threat coming from Iran to

the people of the UAE.

[15:05:10]

DANON: So yes, it is important for them what will happen with the Palestinians, the peace agreement hopefully that we will have with the

Palestinians, but their main concern, what brought us together was the threat from Iran.

And until today, we cooperated quietly in the U.N., bilaterally. Today, we will be able to do it publicly.

QUEST: Right. And I understand the concept, my enemy's enemy is my friend. However, the UAE has clearly gone into this on the basis of Israel

suspending its settlements.

Now, if Israel in the near future decides to un-suspend the suspension, then I can see this falling apart.

DANON: Benjamin Netanyahu was very clear about it. Any move of applying sovereignty will be with coordination with the administration in

Washington. We want to thank President Trump for putting this agreement together.

The U.S. was very involved in this agreement and we are grateful for their involvement.

And in the future, it will be up to the Israeli government to decide when and how to apply sovereignty, and I want the remind you, two years ago when

the U.S. moved their embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we had so many threats from so many leaders that said if that will happen, there would

never be any progress with many Arab countries, and look at where we are today?

The embassy is in Jerusalem and we are signing a very important peace treaty with the UAE.

QUEST: Ambassador, I have been obviously to Israel many times and I have been to the UAE many times, and in both places, it has been an open secret

that there have been talks, there have been -- the trade, there have been negotiations, an undercurrent between the two for a long time. What do you

think finally drove this over into a peace agreement?

DANON: I think like -- as I mentioned, the issue of Iran, the threat from Iran. We see Iranian's proxies attacking Israel, trying to target Dubai,

Abu Dhabi, brought us together.

And also, beneficial for both of us, using our technology, our innovation, together with the people of the UAE.

When I was in Dubai, for example, we shared a lot of ideas. You know, they are having their Expo, it is not going to be 2020, it will be Expo 2021,

but Israel is prepared to come and show our strength and innovation and technology.

And I think that we will find that many Israelis would love to come to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And this time when I came, it was through

Europe. It was incognito. It wasn't simple.

But this time, it would be direct flights, El Al, our national airline that will land in Abu Dhabi. We are grateful for this opportunity.

QUEST: Ambassador, always good to talk to you, sir. I appreciate it.

DANON: Thank you, Richard.

QUEST: The outgoing Ambassador to the United Nations joining me on the line from Tel Aviv.

Now, COVID-19 continues its upward trajectory. After the break, in Europe, we will be discussing -- okay, so the European summer holiday season

continues, but plateaus have given away to a steady climb. We need to understand that, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:19]

QUEST: Joe Biden just called for a national mask mandate. Once again, he was with his new running mate, Kamala Harris. They both wore masks as they

came in and gave rousing speeches. Joe Biden says masks are needed for a three-month minimum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Every single American should be wearing a mask when they are outside for the next three

months at a minimum. Every governor should mandate -- every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing. The estimates by the experts are, it will

save over 40,000 lives in the next three months.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: That's what really leadership look like. We just witnessed real

leadership, which as Joe Biden said that as a nation, we should all be wearing a mask for the next three months, because it will save lives.

And the thing about Joe that the American people know is that his role of leadership in our country has always been about doing what's best for the

people of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Arlette Saenz is with me. Arlette, before we deal with the substance of it, just on sort the two candidates, I get the feeling, just

so far that Joe Biden speaks in a sort of lackluster detail, a bit halting, stumbly way and then Kamala Harris has to come along and tell us what he

says, and tries to energize us about what he said.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, I think you are going the see kinds the dynamic develop and play out over the course of the partnership

that they are trying to build as she is now his running mate.

You know, they had those remarks. Just before that, they actually were part of a virtual briefing with public health experts. A few members of their

team that they have assembled to talk directly about the coronavirus pandemic.

But you heard the former Vice President there call for that three-month mask wearing nationwide. He has stressed over the course of his campaign

over the past few months as coronavirus has played out that people need to wear masks. They need to socially distance when they are out in public, out

in crowds. And that is something that he reinforced again today.

And also Senator Harris, as she is now teaming up with him as part of his ticket.

QUEST: Arlette, thank you. Arlette Saenz joining me from there.

Now, coronavirus cases are rising in Europe. We know that. We have seen the statistics. We have seen the travel restrictions and the various

advisories.

The numbers have been climbing steadily since July. Obviously, they are not as high as they were. They are still well below March and April peaks. But

the new spikes in both the U.K. and France, along with bigger surges in Spain, shown in green -- they all show a worrying trend.

Spanish authorities are scrambling to respond. Whether you call it a second wave, an elongated first wave, a spike or a surge, it doesn't matter. CNN's

Al Goodman reports from Spain.

The authorities don't want to let it get out of control.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Six weeks after lifting a nationwide lockdown which slowed down the coronavirus last spring, Spain is recording the

highest number of new cases in Western Europe.

Spain has about 300,030 cases -- more even than in Britain. There are 600 outbreaks across Spain. But the top government health official says it is

too early to talk about a second wave. Yet, the number of new coronavirus patients in hospitals and in ICUs is on the increase, even from earlier

this month.

Officials say these outbreaks are especially due to young people at drinking parties, in nightclubs, and outdoors. Also to large family events

like weddings, people not wearing masks and getting infected and among seasonal farm workers who live and work in close quarters.

[15:20:41]

GOODMAN: It is now Spain's 17 regional governments leading the battle against the coronavirus, each with their own set of rules.

So here in northwestern Spain in Galicia, the regional government is banning smoking in public places if there is not proper social distancing,

and some other regions are considering following suit.

Al Goodman, La Coruna, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: TUI, the large European travel company -- TUI is reporting a collapse in summer bookings -- late summer bookings which is significant.

There had been an early resurgence in bookings, which has now disappeared.

The world's largest tour company says June's and July's booking now at 81 percent from last year. That perhaps is not exceptional. But IATA expects

Europe traffic to fall 60 percent this year.

Of course, near-term, recovery highly uncertain.

Rita Marques is the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, joins me from Porto. Minister, it is good to have you with us.

Look, the measures that are now being taken by countries like Portugal are dramatic. You are now offering to ensure health and medical costs against

COVID?

RITA MARQUES, PORTUGUESE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TOURISM: It is true. Hello, Richard, first of all. Yes, it's true. In fact, we have been

developing a huge strategy in order to guarantee that everyone is safe here in our country.

Of course, all the hotels and restaurants have been implementing sanitary rules, very strict sanitary rules, and on top of that, we have been

instigating trust.

In order to instigate trust, we have to have a very strong healthcare system. So we have been developing a kind of protocol in order to ensure

that everyone that travels to Portugal has medical assistance either through a private network or through the national care system.

QUEST: Do you think that's going to work much? Because -- well, I suppose you obviously think it is otherwise you wouldn't have done it. But is it

going the work, bearing in mind that traveling to a country -- at least from the U.K.'s terms, traveling to a country which is not on an approved

list means your travel insurance is invalid. Is that what this is aimed at solving?

MARQUES: In fact, the only country that has continuously put us in the red list is the U.K. because all the others, for instance even yesterday, we

had good news from Poland.

So most of the countries right now consider Portugal to be a safe destination, a safe tourist destination. Of course, we have been providing

all the information to the U.K.

At the end of the day, we have not guaranteed that we are in the green list for now. But we will continue to grant all the information to the British

government.

So at the end of the day, as I was telling you, I do believe that tourists that are planning to come to Portugal will see as positive the possibility

to subscribe to the Portugal health passport, what we call -- it is kind of a health passport that guarantees success at previously fixed price to

high-quality healthcare systems.

QUEST: Right. Now, the 13th of August, the summer season two-thirds of the way through. It is pretty difficult to salvage anything from this in terms

of a sudden boost in bookings unless it is late summer.

So, as you come out of the summer, how bad -- how much wreckage is there in Portugal's tourism industry?

MARQUES: If you come to Portugal right now, you will see a lot of Spanish, French people, Italian, so of course, we cannot compare the numbers that we

are having today this year with ones that we got last year.

Notwithstanding, we estimate a kind of 50 percent -- maybe 50 percent less tourist receipts when compared to what we had last year. But still people

are coming.

For instance, if you address the routes, the flights -- flights are coming, and flight routes are -- we pretty much have resumed 60 percent of them

when comparing to the ones that we had last year.

And the low capacity factors in the flights are pretty good. So, it's working. People have to get out from their homes. They have to -- they need

to travel. They need to --

QUEST: Minister.

MARQUES: Yes?

[15:25:37]

QUEST: Minister, as you plan -- I mean, I get your point. But, surely, you have now got to start looking at rescue methods for those tourist

companies, small businesses, beach salesmen, bars and the like that were not able to make enough money in the summer to see them through the winter

through until next year?

MARQUES: Absolutely. You know, we have two big priorities. The first one is of course, it relates to health issues. We want to save lives. So pretty

much, our first priorities is a sanitary framework, the correct sanitary framework in order the save lives and to warranty that everybody is safe.

The second priority is to maintain jobs and to create all the conditions that the companies have to -- all the conditions to guarantee that the

companies will survive and we are investing a lot on that. So we have been outlining a couple of instruments, several instruments, financial and

fiscal instruments in order to guarantee that the companies survive through these tough times, through this desert.

Notwithstanding, I have to tell you, as I was telling before that our estimates for this year are pretty much -- when compared to last year are

pretty much worse, of course, but not as worse as we were estimating when the pandemic popped up.

QUEST: We take whatever small blessings we can get in this pandemic, Minister. And so, I appreciate you bringing me up to date on that. We

celebrate the 50 percent you got whilst we regret the 50 percent you didn't.

Thank you, Minister for joining us. We will check in again with you before the end of the summer.

When we come back, it is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. It is a very busy day. The big news of the day of course is that Israel and the UAE have reached some

form of peace agreement with bilateral trade talks, et cetera, et cetera.

After the break, we will talk more about it. I will have the news headlines in a moment.

It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live from New York.

[15:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. U.S. markets are pushing the

boundaries of records. We'll look at the moment -- in a moment, I'll speak to the former World Bank President Robert Zoellick to get his take on that.

And Donald Trump says Israel and the UAE can now collaborate on tech. I'll be speaking to an Israeli tech chief executive on the benefits that Israel

-- well, both sides can gain from collaboration and working in the future. All of that, all of it comes after I've briefed you on the day's events.

Because this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.

The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an urgent meeting of his top leadership, following the U.S. announcing a peace deal

between Israel and the UAE. While the deal requires Israel to suspend annexation of the West Bank, Palestinians have long urged Arab nations not

to normalize ties with Israel, as long as the Israeli Palestinian conflict remains unresolved. President Trump is explicitly linking his opposition to

funding the Postal Service to his criticism of mail-in voting. He says the Postal Service won't be able to get to handle the influx of ballots if it

doesn't get an additional $25 billion in funding. And Mr. Trump opposes that funding, claiming Democrats want to sabotage the election.

The Parliament chief is calling for sanctions against Belarus over its crackdown on protesters. Davis Sassoli says there should be consequences

for using what he calls brutal force against demonstrators. Just 7,000 people have been arrested over rallies over Sunday's disputed presidential

elections.

The car rental giant Sixt has noted a 37 percent drop in first-half earnings of the year. And despite the drop, though, the company does say

success. It does see some light at the end of the tunnel. The company is rolling out new initiatives and hoping they can get it back on its feet

after the pandemic. The company's chief executive at Sixt joins me now from Munich. Erich, thank you, sir. And I'm not surprised that you've seen these

down numbers would be remarkable if anything else, but how do you propose to get people renting cars again?

ERICH SIXT, CEO, SIXT: Well, first, Richard, thanks for having me here with you. Well, look, yes, we just published our number. And I can tell you, we

expected much worse numbers and we achieved if you imagine what happened in this crisis. And I think we're doing much better than our competitors are

doing. We're good for us. One competitor went to -- into chapter 11. Another major competitor has now see equity on the wrong side of the

balance sheet, where our company is financially extremely solid and can vessel heavy storms. And I tell you, we were expecting a much larger drop.

But what helps us is that we have many, many downtown locations and that we offer to our customers a wide variety of mobility products. We are not only

renting cars; we do car sharing; we do car ride, and we have a new subscription model, which makes it very, very interesting to not purchase a

car or diesel car, but just pay for the time you use it. I think we will revolutionize this industry.

QUEST: Right. So, revolutionizing the industry is fair and good if people want cars, and I guess certainly in -- and I appreciate what you said about

the new modes, as well, if people don't want cars full stop, because either they're not going anywhere or the pandemic has still got a grip on them,

are you prepared for many more quarters of hard going?

SIXT: Yes, we do. We have 1-1/2 billion euros which is about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars equity. By far, it's the strongest in the industry. We could

survive several years with even the drastic drop in traffic, but I'll tell you one thing. In downtown offices, we are already coming in Europe and the

United States, very close to pre-corona times. In Europe, on some airports, we are already at pre-corona times hotspots like Majorca, like Sardinia in

Italy, like the French Quarter (INAUDIBLE) very specially Germany -- German customers and German tourists are going, and renting cars, and flying and

really flying, and it tells us that especially Germans are not so much hit by Corona.

QUEST: Now, the way forward, (INAUDIBLE) do you see -- what opportunities do you see with, for example, a bankruptcy of (INAUDIBLE) which in some

shape or form will come back in some chapter 11 slimmed down, but where do you see opportunities, either through consolidation or through minor

acquisitions, or simply by picking up what's left?

SIXT: I think, Richard, that's -- I think you're pretty, really smart. You see, it really helps us. It's a business consolidates. So, only a few car

rental companies dominating worldwide markets, and luckily enough, we are one of them. And we are financially so solid. And we have been very careful

with big acquisitions, very careful with big acquisitions. But if there are smaller possibilities, we grab them like we did in midst of crisis we

purchased 10 major United States airports with a market volume pre-Corona of $3.4 billion U.S. dollars out of chapter 11 carefully speaking

reasonable price. So, yes, we are always ready to look for opportunities. But we are careful and we never did it in the history of our company,

acquiring big, big companies. Such a major risk because different cultures, et cetera.

QUEST: All right. Erich, it is good to see you.

SIXT: But we're looking at interest and following obviously (INAUDIBLE)

QUEST: Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. Erich, it's good to see you. And apologies, of course, the satellite link -- or satellite link -- the link

between myself and Munich, of course, there is a delay, which often does mean, it sounds like I'm interrupting unnecessarily. But Erich, thank you.

I appreciate it, joining me from Sixt. Now, the markets, if you look at the numbers, you'll see what's happening. And the markets are fascinating,

because they're giving a message of optimism, or at least they were. I mean, these are small losses, but we were at record gains. And even the

NASDAQ was up by some half a percent or so.

Bob Zoellick is with me, the former President of the World Bank, author of "America in the World." He joins me from McLean, Virginia. And we'll --

Bob, we'll talk about the book in just a second. I want to get your take on the deal, the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE, and where you see

the opportunities are for two very powerful tech economic -- economies by coming together?

ROBERT ZOELLICK, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK (via Skype): Well, Richard, first, it's great to be with you. I haven't seen you for a while.

Glad to see you're doing well. So, on Israel and the UAE, I think this is a step that just codifies what we've been seeing happening in the region, in

general.

[15:40:03]

So, with the anxiety of the Gulf Arab States towards Iran and the dangers of Iran, which is a shared concern that Israel has, and also the dangers

that it posed that Iran's militia posed in Lebanon or in Syria or others. This is a relationship that was occurring under the surface. And clearly,

it's a significant statement about where both countries see their future challenges, but also their opportunities.

QUEST: So, to your book, "America in the World," as somebody who's been around the seats of power for a year or two, let's begin -- and could you

just -- can you support the reelection -- will you support the reelection of Donald Trump?

ZOELLICK: Well, Richard, from the very start in 2016, I expressed my strong opposition to President Trump partly based on policy but quite

significantly based on what I saw were some serious character flaws. And I was quite worried that he would undermine fundamental institutions and even

the Constitution. So, it gives me no joy to say that I've seen that happen. And I think over this year, we've seen one other dimension I was worried

about, which is competence and performance, because the United States' performance in this pandemic has been tragic.

QUEST: Isn't there a difference between -- I mean, the President talks about -- and I'm not making a personal political point here when I say, the

President made talks about Make America Great Again. But I traveled a fair bit around the world, and probably not as much as you, sir, but I travel

for a bit, the rest of the world in most cases is laughing of what they see is happening in the United States.

ZOELLICK: Well, that's one of the sad aspects would you take if you cross the scope of U.S. history that U.S. has achieved a tremendous amount. Of

course, it has to be a model at home, which it's not been today, but then also the role that it can play across the world. I think one fundamental

difference, Richard, is President Trump is purely transactional. And it's just a very narrow view. Most successful American presidents and leaders

have recognized that this is a longer-term process with your allies, with your partners, with the economic trading system. I mean, just take the fact

that they negotiated a redo of the NAFTA agreement. And then, surely there afterwards, we're placing tariffs on Canada because Canada is a national

security concern?

So, underneath some of the tos and fros of diplomacy, it has to become some basis of trust and reliability. I worked as, you know, for President Bush

41 at the end of the Cold War. You know, his credibility, his reputation was critical in putting together coalitions, ending the Cold War

peacefully. It's been part of the diplomacy I tried to exercise whether for the U.S. government or with the World Bank. And sad to say, we don't have

that today. It gives me no pleasure to acknowledge it, but it's a reality.

QUEST: And we'll talk more, please, sir, now you've written your book. Come back and talk more, especially on any deal that there might be between any

further deals with China. We'd love to have your on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS more often, sir. I appreciate your time with us tonight.

ZOELLICK: Thank you, Richard.

QUEST: Bob Zoellick joining me. Now, still ahead, these are scenes in many of the lakes and ponds in India. One man gave up his corporate career to be

part of the solution. His story is next on CNN's "CALL TO EARTH."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:00]

QUEST: "CALL TO EARTH" is CNN's call for action on the environment. It is a call for action. And the priority of course, is your involvement to work

with you on this. And tonight, we inspire change and drive awareness as we meet the Rolex Young Laureate from India. The very reason he left his job

at Google to clean up the earth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE SIT, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER WITH THE GLOBAL FEATURES TEAM: On the outskirts of India's sixth largest city, this lake is on life support. Its

streams clogged with waste, and shores looking more like a landfill that's growing. That's why these young volunteers are scrambling to revive it.

ARUN KRISHNAMURTHY, FOUNDER, ENVIRONMENTALIST FOUNDATION OF INDIA: I tell you this is a token cleanup.

SIT: It's 2013 in Chennai, and leading the pack is Arun Krishnamurthy. Now, 33, he's the founder of the Environmentalist Foundation of India, a

nonprofit wildlife and habitat restoration group for lakes and ponds across the country.

KRISHNAMURTHY: You're walking out on the lake where we're trying to clean the garbage, all sorts of nondegradable trash, plastic, rubber, thermal

coal, all that's being removed from the water body.

SIT: India, with a population of 1.3 billion people is facing a range of water-related challenges. Around 70 percent of the country's surface water,

which includes rivers, lakes and ponds, is polluted. That's according to the Asian Development Research Institute. Growing urbanization and the

sewage waste that comes with it, is only part of the problem. There's climate change too.

KRISHNAMURTHY: There is excess rainfall in very short time, causing inundation and flooding and long periods of low rainfall which leads to

water scarcity.

SIT: India's government says water conservation is a priority, though many experts say not enough is being done. Krishnamurthy left a job at Google so

he could be part of the solution. Selfishness, he says, got him into conservation. Because as a teenager, he witnessed the pond near his

childhood home filled up with trash.

KRISHNAMURTHY: Your childhood memories of something so positive and nice when it's snatched away from you. You really want to work towards

rebuilding it.

SIT: His organization has worked on 112 waterways across India over the last 13 years, including this lake outside Chennai which took 70 days to

restore from this, to this. EFI says it deepened the lake, removing weeds and solid waste. It takes time and money. The organization recently secured

enough funds to continue working on that lake you saw earlier, in 2013. This is what it looks like today. These water bodies are only sick, he

says. There is a cure.

KRISHNAMURTHY: Yes, it is possible for common citizens to come together to work together and get something done.

SIT: But it takes a village, Krishnamurthy's organization has rallied more than 62,000 people to volunteer over the past year and a half. For EFI,

public support is crucial especially in the local communities they work in.

KRISHNAMURTHY: I cannot just walk into any neighborhood and start adopting and cleaning up a lake or a farm, unless and until the community there has

a buy in, otherwise, it is my responsibility to clean it up and tomorrow it will go back to where it was before.

SIT: The group uses dance, drama, music and social media, as part of its outreach. Krishnamurthy calls it environmentainment.

[15:50:09]

KRISHNAMURTHY: We've invested into our cameras, we've invested into our speaking skills, we've invested into everything that we need to tell the

story of lakes and ponds.

SIT: A story that affects a nation as India continues to grow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: We will continue, of course, to focus on these inspirational stories, the work of people like you are doing, to help improve the

environment and your own CALL TO EARTH. Write and tell us about it, use social media. And please, use the #CallToEarth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: More on our top story now, the UAE and Israel are opening diplomatic relations, forming a peace agreement and the future of trade. It was

announced by President Trump earlier today, the deal. UAE becomes the first Gulf nation to receive -- to normalize relations with Israel. The

opportunities are vast for bilateral trade and investment.

Jon Medved joins me now from Jerusalem, the founder of out -- OurCrowd, a platform that connects investors to -- basically investors to idea startups

and innovation. Jon, how long before you make your first trip to Abu Dhabi or Dubai, where there are vast sources of funds for you to tap into?

JON MEDVED, FOUNDER AND CEO, OURCROWD (via Skype): Oh, well, I hate to tell you, Richard, but it's actually not going to be my first trip. It will be

my first trip, perhaps on my Israeli passport. But I was in Abu Dhabi just a year ago. And you could tell this was coming. I was in Dubai about two

years ago. These are processes that have been going on, not in the public eye. But it's been clear that this is what we are leading to and this is

absolutely a historic moment.

QUEST: Right. So, where's the benefit commercially, as you see it?

MEDVED: Well, what we're doing is essentially going to connect the unbelievably interesting investor community of the Gulf, led by UAE. But my

intent and my sense is that the Saudis and others will follow, Bahrainis and whatnot, with the incredible energy represented by Israel startup

nation. You know that Israel is probably the second most important source of innovative startup companies in the world after Silicon Valley.

[15:55:13]

MEDVED: This year, about $10 billion will be invested in Israeli startups. OurCrowd is the biggest investor in Israel. And the investors over there

are hungry for these deals. And we are going to work with them on them.

QUEST: And the UAE, things like we're about to learn and the like, they themselves have huge talent, resources in technology, that when fused with

what Israel has, in joint ventures, not just money, but actually scholastic and environmental joint ventures, will be huge.

MEDVED: This is going to be really fundamentally changing the world for the better. I mean, today, we don't get a lot of good news when we look around

the planet. Except, this is just an unadulterated, wonderful news. I don't care where your politics are at, who you are, you got to celebrate this.

This is the third Arab country making a full peace normalization with Israel. It's a very special country, very progressive, very advanced,

looking towards the future. And this is about the good guys winning on all sides. And it's, I think, really a time to celebrate and get to work.

QUEST: Jon, I believe you've got some celebrate winners as yourself, within your family tonight, which is also good news, loads of good news, and mazel

tov to you on that. Thank you. Jon Medved joining me from Jerusalem tonight. The markets that we must look at ever so briefly, before we take a

break in the PROFITABLE MOMENT, the markets we must look like -- look at to show you where we stand.

The Dow Jones Industrial -- the Dow Jones industrials is down just 85 points, not really significant, bearing in mind what we've seen so far on

the day. All the three major indices have totaled about. They're just basically given back some gains in some cases, holding the line in other

cases from where we have been on such a tear lately. Good moment for us to take a short break. We'll have a PROFITABLE MOMENT after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's PROFITABLE MOMENT, some years ago, I -- 20 years ago, my first visit to Dubai, I realized then that there were already

undercurrents, a natural affinity between the UAE and Israel. And it's something to have a senior government minister who I won't mention the name

because they are still there. And I said, you know, we know who you really should do a deal with, you know the country and he just looked at me, he

said, I know, I know, Israel.

It's taken 20 odd years, taking more than that, but the two have now reached a deal. So, (INAUDIBLE) mazel tov to both sides on that. But now,

they have to make it a reality. And they have to hope that other petty or insignificant issues don't get in the way. Netanyahu keeps his promises on

settlements, the Arabs, the UAE doesn't allow other issues to get involved that could pull us apart. There's a possibility for real hope and progress,

and it will be trade and industry that real of the day here. And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever

you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. The day is done.

END