Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

U.S. Administration Stands Behind Japan After North Korean Tests Ballistic Missile; Measuring Happiness; World Leaders Meet in Abu Dhabi for World Government Summit; U.S. Blocks Palestinian for UN Envoy to Libya. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired February 12, 2017 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:10] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Firing back by standing together. President Trump and his Japanese counterpart talk tough to ruler Kim Jong-

un after North Korea test fires a ballistic missile.

Next, the latest developments from the Korean peninsula.

Also tonight...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can also have a call saying that what happened, if my kids are U.S. citizens and I have to go back to Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Calling for help. With the U.S. conducting immigration raids, a Mexican

government center is seeing a spike in questions. The search for answers is later this hour. And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happiness and economic growth are not mutually exclusive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: As governments gather in Dubai, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan argues leaders should be focused on more than on the bottom line. And the

Buddhist country has the smiles to prove it, that and much more this hour.

Well, a very warm welcome to Dubai this evening. It is just after 7:00. This is a special edition of Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. And

we are at the World Government Summit here in Dubai.

We'll do more on that shortly. First, though, we begin with the latest on a ballistic missile test

by North Korea. Its neighbor, South Korea, says it now appears it was a modified Musandan with a longer range than previously estimated.

Well, sources tell us it traveled 500 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.

The Japanese prime minister condemned the launch as, quote, absolutely intolerable. He's visiting the U.S. President Donald Trump who said his

country is fully behind Japan.

This report from Matt Tivers in Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the fact is that this kind of a test is something that South Korean officials have

dealt with before. In fact, in 2016 eight such intermediate range missiles were tested by the North Koreans, although South Korean officials, defense

officials say that seven of those eight tests were considered to be failures.

Now, they are still trying to determine the success level of this latest test, but the fact remains that this isn't the test I think many observers

were expecting given what we've heard recently out of Pyongyang. It was on January 1st, in fact in, a New Year's Day address that Kim Jong-un himself

said that his regime was in the final stages of preparing an intercontinental ballistic missile test ange, a long

range missile test, that could perhaps one day hit a target like the mainland of the United States, the continental United States.

The Kim Jong-un regime has made that a priority for a long time now saying that it wants to develop that technology and given that motivation, even

though this test didn't happen this time, most experts will tell you it's a matter of when rather than if this technology will be

developed by the North Koreans at the current trek, at the current rate, because they want to do it so badly.

But one way that this did stand out a little bit, Becky, from what we saw in 2016 is that there appears to be, according to South Korean officials,

some evidence of an upgraded engine on this particular missile test and that matters because it gives the North Koreans a little bit more strategic

prowess in that this upgraded engine would allow them to launch this missile that much faster than previous versions with a different sort of

engine.

But they are still still to figure that out, they're still parsing through the data, the South Koreans and the Americans together, to try to figure

out how successful this test was, what kind of engine was used.

But no matter what they come out with the fact remains that the Donald Trump administration now has its first major issue with the North Koreans

on hand. They are going to have to come up with a response, and it it's probably something that they are going to have to do quite often throughout

the Donald Trump presidency - Becky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Your thank you for your report there from Seoul.

Well, as Matt mentioned, this is not the first time North Korea has provoked its neighbors. In January last year, Pyongyang said it conducted

an underground nuclear test claiming it successfully detonated the country's first hydrogen bomb. North Korea also test-firing a number of

ballistic missiles, the most successful taking place in June with a Musandan (ph) missile flying about 400 kilometers before landing in the

sea.

In August, Pyongyang had its most successful test firing of a submarine- launched missile. That flew about 500 kilometers.

And in September, North Korea conducted its second nuclear test of the year, and its most powerful to date

Well, last-minute about face by the Trump administration has created what one diplomat called mass confusion in the United Nations. The United

States has prevented veteran Palestinian politician Salam Fayyad from becoming special envoy, UN envoy, for Libya after

initially greenlighting him.

Now, the U.S. ambassador to the world body, Nikki Haley, says she says is a pro-Palestinian anti-Israel bias at the organization.

Well, that decision has shocked the diplomatic community. For the details, Richard Roth joining us now from UN HQ.

Richard, why is the new UN secretary-general not free to chose his own envoys? Just give us a sense of the decision-making process here.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I'm actually in New York a few miles from UN headquarters which will be closed at the moment,

but will certainly be seething tomorrow, Monday.

The procedure is that the secretary-general can nominate a special representative and there's a 48 hour hold period where countries can review

the nomination.

Now, these are sometimes controversial picks. But it's usually conducted behind closed doors

and the public never hears who it seeps out later who didn't like someone.

This may be a preview of what's to come in the U.S.-UN relation. Remember, Nikki Haley, the new U.S. ambassador, walked in to the UN ten steps in said

she's taking names.

Now the U.S. is blocking names. The U.S. definitely supporting its main ally Israel and making

no bones about it. The United States saying that it's not -- it's not really time to give the Palestinians a new and key post, that Israel has

been targeted by UN membership and that there's been a bias by the organization.

Now Antonio Guterres, the new secretary-general, described as surprised by this, and his aides

and spokespeople have come out with firm statements saying that he believed he had gotten the okay

from the U.S. mission here.

It's clear that someone higher up the food chain, or several people in Washington, nixed this nomination which appears at this point unsalvageable

- Becky.

ANDERSON: What does happen next then?

ROTH: Well, there's been talk that perhaps Guterres might nominate someone from the Palestinian camp and also from the Israeli camp to give them for

the first time ever senior positions representing the UN, not representing the Palestinians and Israel, but representing the United Nations.

If there is to be a compromise it would be giving an Israeli politician a UN post and perhaps backtracking a bit and giving Fayyad a post. Not clear

if that is going to happen right now.

What - it is so unprecedented, at least in recent decades, France and Sweden, both security council members, came out with their own statement

complimenting Fayyad saying he is the right man for the job and that Guterres, the secretary-general, should be given the

backing to choose whoever he wants.

This does not happen that often. I'm sure this is not the last U.S..-UN confrontation to come.

ANDERSON: Richard Roth in New York for you this evening. Thank you, Richard.

Some of the other stories on our radar for you, and Iraq's prime minister calls for an investigation after clashes between security forces and

protesters left at least one police officer dead and several people wounded. It happened at a rally off cleric Quqtada al Sadr supporters

calling for election reform.

Protests continue in Romania, both for and against the government there. They follow a degree that would have protected many politicians from

prosecution on corruption charges.

Now that decree has since been scrapped and the justice minister has resigned, but many more are calling for even further or more resignations.

Well, in Germany, a parliamentary assembly has elected the country's president for the next five years. It's Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a

previous foreign minister and a critic of the U.S. President Donald Trump. Although the president is the head of state, his role is

largely ceremonial in the country.

We heard a lot in recent months about politicians failing to understand their electorate and being surprised by votes like those on Brexit or

indeed, of course, on the U.S. presidential race.

Well, here at the World Government Summit in Dubai, that is a very hot topic. For one leader, though, at least the geopolitical turmoil doesn't

mean the future is bleak. The head of the International Monetary Fund says it's likely the U.S. economy will improve under

President Trump.

Well, Christine Lagarde made those comments during a discussion moderated by my colleague Richard Quest who joins me now. And Richard, what's good

for the U.S. may not, though, be great for the rest of the world? Madam Lagarde alluded to that, didn't she?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN MONEY: Absolutely, and for good reason, because although we know that the U.S. will increase its economic performance,

remember, President Trump wants to get to the 3 to 4 percent of GDP, there will be spillover effect. So the U.S. dollar will strengthen. There will

be obviously higher interest rates, which will suck in capital to the United States, which will come at the cost, Becky, of emerging economies.

It's what they call spillover effects. And, yes, this may all happen in the U.S., but you'll

remember when the fed started tapering, you will see the ripples in the rest of the world. And what

Christine Lagarde was saying to economies in the Gulf and elsewhere, get ready now. Now is the time to put your house in order.

[10:11:06] ANDERSON: Interesting. The year started with a real sense of uncertainty and upheaval. You and I spoke at Davos at the World Economic

Forum, which is often where you get a real sense of where we will go, what the steer will be in 2017. And this was despite oil prices, for example,

which is very pertinent to this region, being double what they were this time last year. And how is 2017 looking at this point? Perhaps let's take

a look at it through the prism of this region.

QUEST: More uncertainty! The story you've just been talking about, and Nikki Haley, UN ambassador for the United States rejecting somebody they

thought was going to get the job. Let's just take the Middle East and the relationships with Israel, the questions of the settlements, where does

Trump stand on those? All these issues. The discussions he's had. Oh, I have no doubt that whatever uncertainty existed in January. It is worse

today and comes back to this idea of what Christine Legarde said, let's wait and see what the president does, not what he says he's

going to do.

ANDERSON: This is a meeting, the fourth of its kind here in Dubai, which is about shaping future government. What are we seeing? I mean, you and I

spent day in, day out reporting on these governments. And we've had such upheaval turmoil and some would say chaos

within administrations in 2016. What should we be looking for going forward?

QUEST: The genius of this event is that it is trying to take it, it's trying to become the counterpoint to Davos. With Davos, hit the nerve and

watch the reflex, here they are saying, all right, well, what about artificial intelligence, what about governments 20 years down the road, what about

e-government? All the issues 10, 15, 20 years away.

Now, it's very difficult to take yourself out of the immediacy and speculate on the long-term

future, particularly when you're putting out fires. But have you to applaud what they are doing with this event. And I think what the staying

power they have will increase its importance in the years to come.

ANDERSON: But it will depend on whether people in this region like it or not. There hasn't been a pivot away from the United States, has there?

QUEST: None. no. No.

ANDERSON: You may hear lots of talk about it.

QUEST: No, no, no.

ANDERSON: But what happens in the States, as you rightly pointed out, there is a ripple effect isn't there. So, what happens there is

important.

QUEST: Two reasons. Firstly, it's the largest playground in the word, 16 trillion economy, therefore, you're going to play there. Secondly, at the

end of the day, Becky, at the end of the day the U.S. does share the same values of capitalism as many places in had the rest of the world and, therefore, the market-based rules economy, which

Donald Trump is committed to, but no one knows how it's going to pan out.

Every one of these economies in this aprt of the world - Qatar, the UAE, every one of them relies on that market-based rules economy, than that's

why they are still concerned, so concerned.

ANDERSON: Thank, sir. It's always nice to have you in region.

QUEST: I'm going to India now.

ANDERSON: Good for you.

QUEST: ...conversations - I don't know, I'm got to go to India.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

Richard Quest in the house for you tonight. Still to come, Donald Trump says it's part of his campaign promise, but his homeland security chief

says there is nothing to see here behind a wave of immigration arrests.

That story, viewers, is up next.

And Mexicans are taking their anger over Donald Trump to the streets. We'll go live to Mexico City where new protests are planned just hours from

now. Stay with us. You're watching Connect the World. This is a special edition from the world government summit in Dubai

in the UAE. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:17:06] ANDERSON: Right, it is 16 minutes past 7:00. You're watching CNN, Connect the

World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

Well, many undocumented immigrants across the U.S. are bolting their doors out of fear after a surge of arrests. Authorities have locked up hundreds

in a series of raids across at least 12 states. They say most had already been convicted of crimes, but the operations sparked protests across the

U.S.

Have had a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Here to stay! Here to stay! Here to stay!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, President Donald Trump tweeted just a few hours ago saying that the arrests are just part of his plan, quote, "the crackdown on

illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers and others are being removed," he said - or tweeted.

Our Rafael Romo has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The detentions over the last week are in the hundreds and have been across the country, especially in states with

higher concentrations of immigrants. In California alone, officials say they detained 160 individuals. According to authorities, 150 of the

detainees had criminal histories and the rest were in deportation proceedings for other reasons.

Activists say the raid have terrorized the immigrant populations and caused widespread fear in these and other states, but Homeland Security Secretary

John Kelly says the raids are in compliance with the law and not just random operations.

JOHN KELLY, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: First of all, they're not rounding anyone up. The people that ICE apprehend are people who are

illegal and then some.

ICE is executing the law.

ROMO: A labor union representing a school district in Texas has published a flier that tells

immigrants what to do in case immigration authorities come knocking on their doors. A union spokeswoman calls the raids a crisis and says

providing this information is important to students and parents at this school district.

A local official reacted with indignation to the raids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have heard of several confirmed ICE actions in Austin. We are here to denounce those actions and to let the community

know that we have their backs.

ROMO: Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a statement about the raids saying

the following: the rash of recent reports about purported ICE checkpoints and random sweeps are

false, dangerous and irresponsible. These reports create panic and put communities and law enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger.

Individuals who falsely report such activities are doing a disservice to those they claim to support.

President Donald Trump made cracking down on illegal immigration a central focus of his campaign.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the Mexican government trying to help ease fear among its citizens in the United States by at least answering their questions. It

runs a call center in Arizona seen a very big jump in the number of calls for help.

Polo Sandoval visited the center and has that part of this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:20:16] POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You wouldn't know it if you drove by this Tucson, Arizona, building that bears the Mexican seal. But

inside it's a small army of call-takers. This is more than just a phone bank, it's a clearing house for Mexicans run by the Mexican

government. It's called CIAM, or the Center for Information and Assistance for Mexicans. It's the only one in the U.S.

PATRICIA AHUMADA, CALL CENTER OPERATOR: We also explain all the consular services that we offer.

SANDOVAL: These days, Patricia Ahumada says people are concerned about more than just basic services.

AHUMADA: It can be really tough for us as well, because every story, every call is another story. And I can have a call that can be about a passport,

but I can also have a call saying that what happens if my kids are U.S. citizens and I have to go back to Mexico.

That's why we have around 40 people working over here.

SANDOVAL: Consul General Ricardo Pineda, who leads this team, noticed a recent 100 percent increase in call traffic. The center received an

average of 700 calls a day before Donald Trump was sworn in. Today, nearly 1,300, according to Pineda, who thinks more of his fellow Mexicans want answers about President Trump's

immigration orders. He says many of the calls come from undocumented Mexicans with a new fear of dealing with U.S. immigration authorities.

They fear deportation.

RICARDO PINEDA ALBARRAN, CONSUL OF MEXICO IN TUSCON: What we're trying to do is refer our community to professionals, to duly authorized attorneys,

here or in any location around the U.S. that can provide information. We are doing that and we're going to continue that on a more intensive manner.

SANDOVAL: Pineda echos a new message from his foreign ministry's officewarning Mexican citizens in the U.S. to take precautions. The advice

coming as hundreds ofundocumented immigrants are being arrested in several states. The Mexican government foresees more severe immigration measures

to be implemented with possible violations to constitutional precepts.

Pineda says those concerns have prompted to keep their lines open 24/7.

ALBARRAN: Call your consulate, please come to the consulate. It's our duty to get along with you, to accompany you in any possible process.

SANDOVAL: With concerns about what the White House's step will be, it doesn't seem that

the phones will stop ringing any time soon.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, Tuscon, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Well, that same anxiety and anger spilling into the streets in Mexico. Asnd today, we could see some of the largest protests yet. They

are planned across the country against Mr. Trump and his policies.

Well, CNN's Shasta Darlington is in Mexico City where the demonstrations will get under way about 90 minutes from now. What sort of turnout is

expected there, Shasta?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we're expecting some 17 marches across the country. Of course, the biggest ones

will be right here in Mexico City. You can see behind me, police are already getting prepared, and that's because two simultaneous marches are

actually going to converge right here in front of the Angel of Independence where they are going to sing the national anthem.

And as you said, this is all about protesting against President Donald Trump's policies, from his vows to build a wall between two friendly

nations and even trying to get Mexico to pay for it to these stricter and more severe interpretations of immigration law and the fear

among many Mexicans that they are going to see mass deportation of friends and family from the United States to Mexico. So there is a lot of anger

and fear here. And we're expecting thousands to take to the streets today to let it all out, Becky.

ANDERSON: So, it's clear as you've explained that there is this sort of underlying anger and anxiety about what is happening with this new

administration north of the border. What about the sort of responsibility of the Mexican government and its president for the way that they have

dealt with this? Is there - what are people in Mexico City saying about that, do they

hold their own administration accountable, to a certain extent for this?

DARLINGTON: Absolutely, Becky. You see a couple of different feuding ideologies if you will. On the one hand, the president of Mexico, Enrique

Pena Nieto, was very unpopular, has been very unpopular, but he's gotten this sudden boost because of this feud with Trump. One of the marches that

we're going to see here in Mexico City today is explicitely saying people should get out on the street and show their support for Pena Nieto, really

unify around him, give him the strength to stand up to the new president to the north.

On the other hand, a lot of other Mexicans feel like he isn't being tough enough, that when he isn't actually face-to-face with his counterpart, he

really talks a tough talk, but when it comes to negotiating he isn't standing up tall enough. He isn't saying, no, we won't renegotiate the

NAFTA trade deal, and if you push us we'll pull out.

So there definitely is this sense that Mexicans need to unite and get together, but they want to also push their leader, their president, Pena

Nieto, to be tougher and really stand up to President Donald Trump, Becky.

[10:25:43] ANDERSON: Shasta Darlington is in Mexico City where it is 9:25 a.m. 7:25 p.m. here, an incredible energy at the world government summit

on what was day one of a three-day event. The place buzzing with ideas, possibilities and opportunities, including about how to be happy

and why it is important to be young. Stay right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

ANDERSON: Apologies for what may be some noise you can hear behind me here in Dubai. They're just testing out one of the systems here at the World

Government Summit. Civilization began right here in the Middle East, of course, and just as names from the ancient past like Nebuchadnezzar, and

Ramses echoes through to today, as does the voice behind me tonight, so do its principles of art, science and culture.

But how times have changed. Many of the places that first lit our early minds with knowledge are now struggling through a maelstom of violence.

But some think it doesn't have to be like this. Just hours ago right here at this summit, the ruler of Dubai outlined a new way forward for this part

of the world.

CNN's John Defterios was listening closely and is here to fill us in on all of the details. What is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid getting at here, John?

It was seemed to me quite a bold pledge?

[10:30:49] JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yeah, I think it is. In fact, as we talked through the intercom, I've got to congratulation

you for working through it.

This is the closest thing we have to the state of the nation, or I think it's even better to say the state of the federation, and we often forget

this is a country that is less than 50 years old. And there's seven emirates. It's usually the blueprint for 2017, and at least get the sense

of where their heads are. This went a step further suggesting we could almost export the Dubai model, if you will, or the UAE model. And he was

not shy about it, although he was very casual in his approach. He was suggesting, look, we have better than 300 million consumers, but how many

Olympic medals do we get at Olympics every four year? We have all these consumers, but how many patents do we have? So we could do much better.

So, he called for Arab revitalization. Let's pull up one of his quotes, Becky, which I think stood out as right at the beginning of this

discussion. He said, today we talk of reigniting our civilization. This is a joint effort. And it will need all of us to add their own forumla.

So, he said, look, we have a Dubai formula. We have a UAE forumla. I want you to add to the formula. So, he didn't want to be so bold to say, look,

I've got the excellence, I have the model, but he's saying we could be doing much better.

And I thought it was also very interesting that he singled out the new partners of the UAE - China, Japan, South Korea, and say, look, they don't

have natural resources. We have a lot of natural resources, for example, in Abu Dhabi. But look at the excellence in education, look at the

excellence of intellectual property and look at where we are today.

ANDERSON: That was in answer to one of the questions that came in video and social media and that the leader here was answering today, which was

can you really export this model if you're a country like, I don't know, Egypt, which doesn't have the natural resource wealth, and I think the

answer you pointed out was a good one from Sheikh Mohammed.

This isn't our first, second, or even third government summit. Is this one - it is certainly my sense, this one is meatier than others.

DEFTERIOS: Yeah, it is meatier. But the way, in scale it's almost the size of the World Economic Forum. You had the conversation with Richard

earlier, it's 4,000 participants. It's not two days, it's four days. So, it is weightier. The head of the World Economic

Forum led it off, so the intellectual prowess of all the NGOs and the World Economic Forum are here right now and again what I think they are trying to

do is saying this is our strategy going forward, but at the same time - and I think this is fascinating - he said to the Arab people today, let's not

blame ourselves for where we are. It's almost time for a reboot. We have the challenges in Syria, we have the challenges in Iran and Iraq at this

stage. Can we move beyond it? Are we ready to take the opportunity and actually build something much forwarder for the future.

And I thought it was fascinating. This is an economy that's built on globalization. You think

about it for Emirates Airline and the ports business which is DP Ports, he's suggesting now let's not think about an Arab market of 300 million

consumers, he says, in fact, quoting him, let's look beyond our neighbors. This is a globalized world.

And at the same time, you think about it, it's quite clever, because he's saying to the nationalist tones that we've seen emerging out of the

European Union and the United States, we are not going to cocoon. We have to live in this globalized world. We'll die without globalization. So,

let's embrace it. And he's telling the Arab neighbors, knock down the barriers. We've talked about it for three decades and it's time to move

beyond it. It's overdue, if you will.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. John, thank you for that. John Defterios and Richard Quest, both in the house with me today at the World Government

Summit here in Dubai.

Almost everybody here is talking about youth and happiness. We'll get to youth in a moment. First, though, let's talk about being happy. Some of

us think that money will make us feel good, right. But Bhutan wasn't so happy about that. So, at the start of the 1970s, they came up with the

idea of gross national happiness to find out how that is working for them.

I sat down for a chuckle and a chat with the prime minister who hopes happiness will become a priority for all around the world. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TSHERING TOBGAY, BHUTANESE PRIME MINISTER: Happiness growth are not mutually exclusive. In fact, gross national happiness can enhance economic growth by making it sustainable. Mindless pursuit of unbridled material

growth, is it going to generate contentment in society? Is it going to generate well-being in society? If not, perhaps we need to rethink. And

we've been lucky and done because that process of thinking or rethinking started about 40 years ago.

[10:35:27] ANDERSON: How do you measure happiness?

TOBGAY: Again, very difficult. That's what's done by something called an institution called Center for (inaudible) studies. They look at 23

different indicators that affect the nine domains of happiness. But they interview more than 8,000 people. Each interview takes about an hour and a

half. It is a detailed survey. 149 questions from how much money you have in the bank to do you own a home to how were you sick, to how many hours of

sleep do you get?

If you have some sufficiency over those domains, (inaudible) well enough to call yourself happy.

ANDERSON: There is a big argument out there as to whether government should be enforcing happiness or whether it should be ensuring happiness,

and there is a difference, isn't there?

TOBGAY: I can't force you to be happy, but perhaps those conditions that generate happiness can be provided. And if those conditions are a public

good, if you think of them as a public good, then isn't that the government's responsibility, whether you are happy in the moment or not,

that's your business. But if those conditions are created - air, for instance, is a public good. Shouldn't it be the government's

responsibility to clean the air.

But Becky, let's not stop there. Why can't businesses, companies measure their happiness and

well-being of their employees and of their customers. Once you have the measurements, you can take your policies back to the drawing board to

improve the happiness levels of your employees.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That was the prime minister of Bhutan.

Well, young people often get a bad rap. Get a load of this quote. Our sires' age was worse than

our grandsires. We, their sons, are more worthless than they. So in our turn we shall give the

world a progeny yet more corrupt.

The Roman poet Horace wrote that about 2,000 years ago. Others like The Who see things

just a little bit differently.

(MUSIC)

ANDERSON: Whichever way you look at it, young people are the future, and the UAE embracing that fact. It's got its own minister for youth, Shamma

al Mazrui. She is just 22 herself, about my age, sort of. When we hung out earlier, I asked what is it like to be the world's youngest minister?

Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAMMA AL MAZRUI, EMIRATI YOUTH MINISTER: Since I was young I always wanted to serve this nation, no matter what field and career. So, if you

tell me tomorrow you're going to a different sector I learned that nothing is impossible if you put your heart and core to it. Our focus was in

(inaudible) of listening to youth and engaging with them.

It's very simple. It was an idea by young people who said, you know what, let us sit with decision-makers on different topics and solve challenges

and how can we make it the business of the ministries but all public sector and private sector to engage with young people and harness their potential.

ANDERSON: What are the biggest challenges that the youngsters here in the UAE face, do you think?

MAZRUI: We have over 108 million young people in this region. And if there is no connection

between government and youth or if governments don't understand the true needs and concerns of

young people, this vacuum will fill itself with something else, and something that sometimes we can't afford to have. And our forefathers have

built this nation out of a desert by perseverance, by hard work, by effort, by unity, and now it's our time as young people to upscale and contribute

to that.

ANDERSON: Well, there will be people watching this interview. You say that sounds very idealistic, great, but sort of overly idealistic. How

would you respond to that?

MAZRUI: Around the world a lot of young people feel like they don't even know what their country's national youth strategy is or what they are

supposed to live for. The Arab Youth Forum that's happening today at the World Government Summit was fully executed by young people. We have 98

young Emiratis who worked on everything from content to designing it, inviting 150 Arab young people around the world calling them day and night

to make sure that this forum is the best. And it's not employees work in government, it's young people who want to volunteer their time to give

back. And I think that's what his highness says when he means lead by. He means with every step we invest in young people's potential, because they

are the ones who are going to be the future leaders.

[10:40:32] ANDERSON: The challenges that young Arabs face across this region are well documented. They make the headlines on a regular basis.

Is what are doing here something that can be replicated or is this very specific, do you think, to what is going on in the UAE today.

MAZRUI: No, I think it can be replicated through the world. And we would love to share our

different - several platforms and initiatives that were created by young people, ideas that came from them. And I think it's a model anyone around

the world can use, and it's -- it just takes believing in your young people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Remarkable stuff. We've been locking at our leaders here at the world government summit are looking to shape all of our future. This is

about future governments. The message locally, the role of any government is to create an environment led by its youth where people can achieve their

dreams and ambitions and they put happiness at the very core of that here.

What are your thoughts on this and other plans. Let us know. Tell us what's going on in

your part of the world, in your region, in your state, in your country. Leave your ideas and comments at Facebook.com/CNNConnection. You know how

to get hold of me @BeckyCNN. That's @BeckyCNN.

I am Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World from the World Government Summit

here in Dubai. We'll be here again tomorrow to bring you more fascinating interviews and insights into the way that we are shaping our world. Thanks

for watching. CNN, of course, continues after this short break. Don't go away.

END