Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Germany's Afd Works to Form State Government After Election Win; Afd Candidate Says Party Has Clear Mandate to Govern State; Kushner Asked About Chances of Success in New Diplomatic Push; U.S. Pushing to Resume Trilateral Talks with Moscow & Kyiv; Investigation Underway After Deadly Amazon Cargo Plane Crash. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 07, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, you are looking at live pictures from Miami. It's 09:00 a.m. there. Investigators on the scene,

trying to understand what caused a deadly Amazon cargo plane crash. It is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.

I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World" from our Middle East programming headquarters. Also coming up, U.S. envoys Jared Kushner

and Steve Witkoff wrap up a visit to Ukraine with a push for new talks with Kyiv and Moscow. Celebrations as Germany's far right AfD pulls off an

historic win in a state election.

What does that mean for the country's chancellor? Well, a far-right election victory in one German state reverberating across Germany and

beyond. The alternative for Germany party won 44 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt over the weekend. That result put the party just short of an

absolute majority.

It's the closest the far right has come to holding power in a German state since World War II. And Germany's Chancellor says the implications are both

national and global.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: We are all deeply shocked. This outcome was not expected in this form. We must, of course, accept it. These are the

rules of our democracy. But yesterday, something changed not only in Saxony-Anhalt, but throughout Germany.

This election result will have repercussions. It also has repercussions on the international situation. Just look at who sent congratulations

yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Fred Pleitgen covering this for us in Berlin, and we have to talk about the significance there. And indeed, the German

Chancellor referencing congratulations coming in from around the world, including from the MAGA right in the United States. Let's just step back

for a moment and just consider the significance of this victory.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, certainly, you're absolutely right, Becky. And one of the things that

we have to keep in mind is that the state that we're talking about, Saxony- Anhalt, is a very small state.

It only has about 2.1 million people living in that place, which is far less, for instance, than the German capital of Berlin.

Nevertheless, the significance seems to be very high. And the Chancellor Friedrich Merz is absolutely right. There were people from around the world

watching that election, and certainly a lot of folks from the MAGA movement then also commenting on it as well.

It actually started with U.S. President Donald Trump, who reposted the election results on his Truth Social page, then you had Elon Musk

congratulating the AfD as well as several MAGA members of Congress. One of them being Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who congratulated the AfD,

saying that they were their friends.

And actually, I'm just seeing right now that the first comment to that post by Paulina Luna actually came from the Russian Chief Negotiator with the

United States, Kirill Dmitriev himself posting several clapping emoji hands under that post. And one of the things that we saw is that there were some

reactions coming in from Russia as well.

By the way, Becky, with Kirill Dmitriev himself reposting several stories about these elections, and then also saying that Germany did need to change

its course, and that Friedrich Merz has done a big disservice to Germany as far as the Russians were concerned.

Of course, Germany now in a big standoff with Russia. Friedrich Merz himself, by the way, he did say that of course he and his political party,

the Christian Democratic Union, take full responsibility for what happened. That they need to really reevaluate the course that they're taking.

In that press conference, where that sound bite came from that we showed before, he said there would be consequences. Didn't really say what those

consequences are going to be, except staying the course on reforms, and certainly didn't allude to the fact or any sort of fact that he might have

personal consequences out of this, a possible resignation that was sort of something that was being talked about here in Berlin definitely seems like

something not in the cards at this point in time, Becky.

ANDERSON: So Merz talking about the fact that it's not possible to go back to business as usual after this.

[09:05:00]

I mean. This is the AfD coming out, as you rightly point out, top in what is a state election, not even enough to govern out right there, but it does

seem as if the consequences of this are far wider than just the success in this state election. I mean, Merz's words really ringing not just in

Germany but around the world.

So, what does he mean, and what are the consequences potentially of this victory at this point?

PLEITGEN: Well, you know, I think one of the things that we shouldn't underestimate, watching all of this internationally, is the political shock

waves that have been sent to Berlin and through political Berlin by these election results in the state in Saxony-Anhalt.

It certainly has been the fact for an extended period of time that the Alternative for Germany, the AfD, has been by far the highest polling party

in all polls over the past couple of months. And there are several other state elections that are coming up where they are polling very highly as

well.

So, if you look at these state elections. You're absolutely right. It's not clear whether or not they're going to be able to get the governorship.

Nevertheless, the fact that they did manage to get that large chunk of the vote. They feel that they have the right to try and form a coalition and

then try and push through a lot of their policies.

And earlier today, Ulrich Siegmund, who was their main candidate for this election in Saxony-Anhalt. He talked about those elections results and what

they mean. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ULRICH SIEGMUND, AFD'S LEAD CANDIDATE IN SAXONY-ANHALT: This is the best result any party has achieved in Saxony-Anhalt since 1990. You really have

to stop and appreciate that fact. So, this result is, of course, a mandate to govern. But and we emphasized yesterday too, only on the condition that

we remain true to ourselves, that we don't compromise our principles, and that we don't become like those who were heavily punished by the voters in

Saxony-Anhalt yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, when he talks about being true to themselves, he's obviously talking about some of the fundamentals of AfD's policies, and the most

controversial of those is something that they themselves called remigration, which essentially means mass deportations of undocumented

immigrants here from Germany, also folks with criminal records as well.

That definitely would be something impossible to even push through with a lot of the other political parties here in this country, but also something

that is widely seen as being highly controversial, and the other thing that's very important to the AfD as well would be stopping aid to Ukraine,

for instance.

And of course, there, Becky, we have to keep in mind that right now, at this point in time, Germany is certainly one of the largest, if not the

largest, provider both of military and financial aid for Ukraine. So certainly, a lot of policies up in question. Always have to keep in mind

it's a very small state we're talking about.

But I spoke to the Party Chairwoman of the AfD, Alice Weidel, and she says she does believe this could be a stepping stone for the AfD to take power

in Germany in the future, Becky.

ANDERSON: German political parties use the term firewall. I can't pronounce that in German. You will know what I'm meaning to describe this strict

refusal to either go into coalition or even collaborate or cooperate with the AfD. Is that going to have to change do you think?

PLEITGEN: I think it might change. First of all, firewall in German has the very strong name, as you can imagine, Brandmauer, and it's something that

other political parties have put in place, which essentially means that the other political parties, or at least almost all of them, refuse to

cooperate with the AfD.

That, of course, can have big repercussions also on a local and regional level. When, for instance, there are certain measures that might get pushed

through that the AfD is in favor of, and that other political parties will then not support. However, as far as a coalition is concerned, the other

political parties ahead of this election have said that they are not going to cooperate with the alternative for Germany, but that makes it very

difficult for themselves as well.

And you then get to coalitions for where, for instance, the Conservative Party of Friedrich Merz, or whoever is running for that party in a state

election, goes into a coalition. For instance, with the Socialist Party or with the Green Party, and there might not actually be that much overlap.

It makes it very difficult to govern in such a coalition. And essentially, those coalitions, a lot of people believe, have the single purpose of

keeping the Alternative for Germany out of power, and certainly not the purpose of possibly pushing through a lot of the electoral agenda that some

of these political parties have.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

PLEITGEN: So, it's definitely something that has proven to be very difficult to overcome and to work with for what many people here call the

established political parties. And certainly something where the AfD also believes that it's actually strengthened their hand in a lot of these

elections.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right, good to have you, Fred. Thank you. Well, words of optimism, but no breakthroughs after U.S. negotiators wrapped up

weekend talks in Ukraine and in Russia.

[09:10:00]

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says he thinks a new round of trilateral talks involving the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia will happen. Witkoff, and

President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with the Ukrainian President on Sunday after holding what the Kremlin describes as highly

useful talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the day before.

Well, in Kyiv, Kushner was asked about the chances of success and his previous track record in other conflicts in an exchange with NBC News

Correspondent Richard Engel. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ENGEL, NBC NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: You have been involved in numerous negotiations around the world. Why should people have any

confidence in your capacity to succeed here, you were involved in the Gaza negotiations, but Gaza remains waste land.

There's been real no progress there. Iran, you were involved in those negotiations. The war is still going on. You've been involved in several

rounds of negotiations in this conflict. It's only getting more intense. So, you're relaunching negotiations now. What's the likelihood they will

succeed when other negotiations you've been involved in have not?

JARED KUSHNER, DONALD TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW: These things take time. These are some of the hardest conflicts, and so the tone of your question was a

little bit like, why haven't you done every single impossible thing possible? We are very honored to be able to have the opportunity to work on

these under President Trump's leadership, and we're very committed to giving it everything we can.

And I think President Trump has a track record of doing impossible things. I think the last administration they didn't go to Russia. I mean, I think

they had one visit with the CIA Director. But you know, there's a war. I mean, every day there are soldiers on the front line from both sides, and

they want to go home to their families.

And there are people in these cities who have bombs dropping and their lives are very disrupted and they want to see that put to an end. And so,

if the answer was simple, then somebody would have solved it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Clare Sebastian joining me from London. And I'm sure our viewers will be forgiven for wondering why now. Why this trip now-it's not

the first trip to Moscow, of course, but it is Kushner and Witkoff's first trip, as I understand it, to Kyiv. And what are they taking in that's

different? Is it clear?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear why now. It's not clear what's different as of yet, Becky. But for better or worse, it is clear. We

learned from this past weekend of diplomacy that for some reason the U.S. has decided that now is the time to inject new momentum into this

diplomatic process.

After seven or so months of it essentially being on ice because of the Iran war. Now the Iran war is still going on. Maybe that's part of the reason

why they are now restarting this whole thing. But look, even though there was no progress, it is still very important for Ukraine that they were

there.

This, as you say, the first visit by these U.S. envoys, key optics for President Zelenskyy, a night off, and this is not nothing, given the week

and a half or so that we've seen in Kyiv, a night off from Russian strikes and discussions of how to help Ukraine going into what they expect to be

another very brutal winter of war. Take a listen to President Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: If the war continues into winter, which is what it looks like for now, nevertheless. Today the teams

are positively assessing our future possibilities. So, if the war continues into winter, we are really counting on a winter package, which I discussed

in great detail today with Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and our European partners.

We are really counting on such support, both air defense and energy support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Look, I mean, the war going into winter, as we expect it will, from President Zelenskyy, hardly a vote of confidence in the prospects for

peace, which I think we learned this weekend are now even more remote than ever, perhaps. And there's plenty of evidence to support the continuation

of the violence, not least the fact that the air war has ramped up again today.

We've seen a Russian strike on a facility belonging to British American Tobacco, which CNN has verified, the video of in Chernihiv, just north of

Kyiv, on the other side as well. You can see the smoke billowing out of that facility. On the other side as well, Ukrainian drones have once again

been attacking Russia in some far-flung areas, including what appears to be a strike on a residential building in Perm in central Russia.

This is not something that the Ukrainians have commented on, though they did say they targeted oil facilities in this region. But look, in terms of

next steps, the U.S. is clearly pushing for another sort of step into trilateral meetings. This really sort of shows how much time has been lost

here.

Gets us back to where we were pretty much at the beginning of this year when they held three rounds of trilateral meetings. Ukraine says it's

willing for talks in any format, and Russia says it's not going to rule out trilateral meetings. Neither is it going to rule out, the Kremlin said

today, a conversation between Putin and Trump on the results of this weekend.

So, we'll watch for that, Becky.

[09:15:00]

ANDERSON: Yeah, good to have you, Clare. Thank you. And I want to turn to this region, no sign of any major Iranian retaliation emerging after the

U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers over the weekend. The U.S. military says that was after Tehran launched ballistic missiles towards 2 U.S. Navy

warships.

Both sides, of course, traded strikes last week for the first time in more than a month. And now we are hearing Iran plans to announce a new

restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Reuters report quoting Iran's top national security official seen here.

For his part, the UAE's Presidential Adviser says the country's energy exports will not, and I quote here, will not be held hostage during the

war. But Abu Dhabi is also trying to find a way to deal with Iran, quote, productively. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANWAR GARGASH, UAE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Dealing with Iran remains a central issue, not only for the UAE, but for all the Gulf countries. Iran

remains our neighbor, and at some point, we will have to find a way to restore what can be restored. Geography leaves us no alternative to

engagement.

But we must distinguish clearly between rebuilding a necessary and functional relationship with Iran and rebuilding the trust that has been

broken. The first is necessary, the second will be far more difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well for more on the Gulf perspective, I'll be speaking with Qatar's Adviser to the Prime Minister and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

Majed al-Ansari at the start of the next hour, and you'll want to stay tuned for that. He is here in Abu Dhabi. Well, it's nearly two weeks since

catastrophic flash floods swept through the Nepal-China border region, killing, of course, more than 1,300 people.

According to officials in Nepal, nearly 5,000 others are still missing. CNN's Simone McCarthy saw firsthand some of the devastation in the region

as part of a rare trip organized by the Chinese government. And we want to clarify that CNN still has full editorial control of the coverage in her

report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER: So, we're walking into the main hard hit port area. Now, I mean, even just some of the ground here is

incredibly unstable. It's like, it feels like it's almost hollow underneath. You can see there's quite large rocks here.

There's also excavation going on behind us, a number of workers are actively in the midst of some of the response and repairs here. We've been

told, as well as we were walking over, that there is the risk of loose rocks. I'm standing in the location that was once a five-story border

checkpoint.

This used to be a bustling hub of transit between Nepal and China, with travelers, travel agents, people involved in trade coming over that border,

moving through what was once a huge building here. This is the spot where a huge wall of water washed over a five-story building.

In video that was captured on surveillance footage on August 26th, when devastating floods and landslide hit the China-Nepal border. I'm standing

now in the area where that building was. This is Gyirong Port in Tibet, where CNN is part of a small group of foreign reporters who've been given

access to this site the first time that foreign media have been allowed entry.

And now to see what the impact of that was here, where there's just, I mean, you would never know that there had been anything here at all.

There's actually a sign which is indicating that this was a foundation. You can still see some rebar, but that's really the only thing that remains.

There have been no survivors found in this location. And right now, the rescue teams are just contending with this heavy, heavy mud. The road that

we took to get in here was actually layered in some places with five feet of mud. It took the better part of a week for emergency workers to be able

to enter via road.

One of the other things that we can notice is that the flood waters actually reach so high up onto the mountain. You can see some of the

greenery has actually been scraped away there as a result of just how high those flood waters came as they barreled through this area.

We asked one of the responders how long he thought the operations would continue, and he wasn't able to give an answer. They've put up a Chinese

flag to memorialize what was here, but there's just absolutely nothing left.

[09:20:00]

This area has also been a focal point for families who are desperate for information about what happened to loved ones that they believe were at

this border crossing at the time when that landslide and flooding hit this area, they're still waiting for answers. The government has yet to publish

publicly a list of who was at the border crossing at the time.

Families are really desperate for more information about what happened here. And looking around, it's you can see that there's no answers

immediately visible. Simone McCarthy, CNN, Gyirong port.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, still to come on CNN, Amazon cargo plane crashes in Miami, killing five people. Now, investigators trying to determine why this plane

ran off the runway. More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. Well Illinois mother, who prosecutors say was quote invested in the Lindsay Clancy trial, is now facing first degree murder

charges over the death of her son. Now I've got to warn you, the following details in this story may be disturbing for you.

Court documents state that Corie Walsh had been texting her friends about the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the former nurse accused of fatally strangling

her three children. Then, just hours later, Walsh's two-year-old son was found unresponsive in her basement. Her attorneys say she was experiencing

a mental health crisis at the time.

Well, our Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild has more. She's joining us live from Chicago. What do we know about this case at this

point?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's the timeline here that I think has people really questioning what role the Lindsay

Clancy trial may have played in this tragedy. So, here's what we know, Corie Walsh had been texting her friends about the Lindsay Clancy trial up

until 12:30.

By 4 o'clock, police had responded to a call of an unresponsive toddler. A neighbor found Barrett Walsh, just two years old, hanging from a rafter in

the basement. The neighbor tried to bring Barrett down from that rafter, tried to perform CPR, but tragically was not able to save that child's

life.

The neighbor also found Corie Walsh in an upstairs bathroom, actively trying to harm herself. There was a knife that the neighbor took and threw

into the sink. When officers arrived, they found Corie Walsh basically covered in blood in a bathtub. And as they investigated this and

interviewed her, at some point she told officers that she did this because her child was the antichrist and was the devil.

[09:25:00]

And provided detail about how he died that was consistent with what police saw. There was a baby at home at the time. That child was unharmed, and

then horrifyingly, two of her school-age children came home as this entire ordeal was playing out. Basically, right around the time that Barrett Walsh

was found.

An absolutely tragic story that has unfolded in Illinois. This is basically south west of Chicago here, as you said, her attorney says that she was in

the throes of a psychotic episode. That once all of the facts come out, that everyone will see this for what it is, which is a major tragedy.

Police say this is clearly a first-degree murder. She is due in court tomorrow. Back to you.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. An investigation under way to determine what caused an Amazon cargo plane to crash at Miami International

Airport, killing five people. Now, this Boeing 767 was landing Sunday when it overran the runway, slamming into several vehicles and bursting into

flames, and you see it here.

Officials say five other people were injured in the incident, with three in critical condition. Listen to a first responder initially reporting the

crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, the plane is on fire. Plane is on fire. Put your game faces on. This aircraft overrun the runway. It crossed 67th Avenue. It

struck a truck. We do have a patient on the ground. We're looking at serving the area for more patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean joining us now, and we are some hours after this. What more are we learning? One about what

happened, and about the victims, those who have died and those who are, of course, injured.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: So many questions here, Becky, about why this occurred. But the early story, essentially from the data and

from the video that we're seeing, is that this plane came in too high and too fast. Ultimately, going off the end of Runway 30 here at Miami

International Airport.

That's about a quarter mile behind me. This is Northwest 67th Avenue. The plane exited the runway, going essentially from left to right here, crossed

the four lanes of road, and then came to rest of in the distance behind this large Amazon warehouse and logistics center here, just to the west of

the Miami International Airport.

Some big questions about why this runway did not have what's called engineered materials arresting system, a bed of crushable cement that could

have potentially slowed this airplane down to a stop as it careened off the end of the runway. The early data shows that this plane touched down at

about 200 miles an hour, at least at the halfway point.

Or barely touched down, because the video is showing that this during this attempted landing, as the plane sailed by somebody taking video on the

tarmac there at Miami International Airport that the left main landing gear was still airborne as this airplane was trying to decelerate.

Clearly, an attempted landing that went wrong, and now investigators will want to know on their own from the black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder

and the flight data recorder. What was the pilot -- what were the pilots talking about at the time of this incident? Did they talk about aborting

this landing?

And what was the actual speed of this plane? We know the plane was going about 200 miles an hour at the midway point, exited in the runway, going

about 130 miles an hour, the last data point about 80 miles per hour. So clearly, a story of an airplane that came in too fast here. Some big

questions about why that occurred.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. All right, Pete. Good to have you. Thank you. Right, folks, you're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson

from our Middle East programming headquarters. There is a lot more news ahead, so please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Right, welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, and you are watching "Connect the World". Well, a new magical world is coming to Abu

Dhabi. Would you believe it? Three new Harry Potter-themed lands are being added to the Warner Brothers World theme park here in Abu Dhabi.

Visitors will be able to experience Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and the Forbidden Forest first hand in 2029 when construction is completed. The

project being led by Miral, a creator of immersive experiences here. And for more on the magic awaited, Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi is Group Chief

Executive at Miral, the veritable wizard who makes the magic happen here on Yas Island.

And actually, the bureau, the CNN bureau, is on Yas Island. So, we're literally talking about a stone's throw away from where we are. Look, how

long has this been in the works, and what's the thinking here beyond, of course, getting access to one of the most successful entertainment brands

in the world?

MOHAMED ABDALLA AL ZAABI, GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT MIRAL: Thank you, Becky. It's great to be here again.

ANDERSON: Good to have you.

AL ZAABI: Always we have exciting news and update about Yas Island. We're very excited today to announce that we have broken ground here on Yas

Island early this year. And we look forward to complete this construction by 2029. We're also adding by the two DC attractions.

We have just opened Kryptonite Collider July this year, and we are also bringing for the first time flying coaster here on Yas Island, Superman Up

and Away.

ANDERSON: Hey, two theme park enthusiasts, and I know a lot of them. They are going to be very excited about this. Yas, of course, Yas Island is in a

major phase of growth. You got projects like Disney, huge the Abu Dhabi's Sphere, which we've also reported on in the pipeline.

How does Harry Potter fit into your broader vision for this as a destination?

AL ZAABI: You have witnessed this at first time. I think you have seen the evolution of Yas Island since 2007. We started working this island, so it's

literally 19 years old now, and we're very proud of what we actually so far building all these attractions. The vision and objective or strategy here

is very clear.

We want to have international entertainment destination to attract tourists from around the world to come enjoy their time with their loved ones, and

also to contribute directly and indirectly to Abu Dhabi strategy, touring strategy.

ANDERSON: We witness a rapid expansion, particularly over the last sort of five or six years. I mean, does -- do you have conversation, and is part of

the sort of you know the sort of back of house conversation about whether you have any concerns about hitting sort of oversaturation, or is there a

saturation point at some point?

AL ZAABI: I think the vision is very clear. We want to achieve 39 million visitors by 2030. That is the Department of Culture and Tourism strategy.

We contribute at Miral, in stimulating and supporting tourism direction. We are thinking we are going the right direction, step by step. We are

thinking step by step plan where we open Ferrari World and then Yas Waterworld, then Warner Brothers, and recently we just opened Sea World.

And now we're about to expand Warner Brothers, where we are adding literally 50 percent extra area.

[09:35:00]

The numbers show that there is still potential. The numbers show there is still growth, and I give example just August last month, occupancy of our

hotels here in Yas Island were 85, 84 percent the whole month. And Warner Brothers Hotel specifically the occupancy was almost 92 percent.

That's amazing. People coming here to enjoy their time with their love, and let's not forget that all the theme parks are indoor, so regard to the

weather, summer or winter is to enjoy your time --

ANDERSON: And this is against a challenging environment with the, you know, the regional instability, the geopolitical instability. You're talking

about pretty robust numbers there. You're not getting these sorts of international visitors that you might want, but certainly you would

certainly expect those to come.

Are you pretty confident about getting those back. You certainly have had a good opportunity with residents and GCC residents as well. When do you see

the sort of uptick?

AL ZAABI: We saw positive trend since June, so I would give the credit to my team. They work aggressively on clear campaign, marketing campaigns.

They focus certain market, like for example Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, India, and we managed to attract tourists to come enjoy the time here.

Since June, July, August, we have seen good positive trend, and by very surprisingly, even eight, although we were lying very much in situation, it

was the busiest street ever, which was made of May this year. So, people want to enjoy the time. They want come here to stay, and they want to have

immersive and unique time with their loved ones.

ANDERSON: Well, certainly, despite the you know the challenges of this past year, the UAE, of course, pressing ahead with these major tourism

investments, scheduled to be hosting, you know, big global events like F1 back end of this year. What does a project of this scale say about Abu

Dhabi's confidence in its tourism strategy?

AL ZAABI: I think Abu Dhabi always for decades. We don't plan for quarters. We plan for decades, and Abu Dhabi always keeps its promises. And we are

here to develop our destination here in Yas Island. And Department of Culture and Tourism also developing Saudiyat, which is another culture

destination here in Abu Dhabi.

And both are working together hand in hand to attract tourists from around the world to come each other time. What we want to develop here, unique

experience. We want to make sure it's convenient, and we want to be able to enjoy their experience with their loved ones here on Yas Island and

Saudiyat, of course.

ANDERSON: We've got the Guggenheim opening at the end of the year, of course.

AL ZAABI: Yes, of course.

ANDERSON: And I know you were involved in the I think the launch of the Natural History Museum here.

AL ZAABI: Yes.

ANDERSON: So, I think there were four museums on Saudiyat cultural district open just last year. So that does lead me to the final question here. You

talk about the tourism strategy being embedded in the sort of long-term growth strategy for Abu Dhabi. So, firstly, what's next?

Because I know you're not exhausted by what you've got on your plate at this point. What's next? And just briefly talk to me about that kind of

long-term vision.

AL ZAABI: We are here to build ecosystem. We are here to make sure that everything is integrated. So, it's not about only the theme parks. It's

about the hotel. It's about transportation. It's about convenience. It's about arrival experience. We will stay busy.

We'll keep adding new attractions, a new expansion on Yas Island. We want people ready to come here, enjoy their time. We want to extend length stay.

That is our objective here. Instead of staying two nights, three nights, why not four nights? And to achieve that, of course, you need to add more

attractions, more experiences here on Abu Dhabi.

ANDERSON: Well, I introduce you as the wizard who ensures the magic happens on Yas Island. I mean, you know, I've been here for what nearly 15 years.

And I remember, you know, what this place was like 15 years ago, and it has been quite remarkable to see its evolution. So, Mabrok, to you.

AL ZAABI: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Thank you for coming in.

AL ZAABI: It's my pleasure --

ANDERSON: I know a lot of people are going to be very excited about Harry Potter coming to Abu Dhabi. Thank you very much indeed.

AL ZAABI: Thank you, Becky. Thank you very much.

ANDERSON: Good. Up next in sports, Jannik Sinner may be injured and out the U.S. Open, but he is making the most of his time in Northern Italy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, we are in the second week of the U.S. Open now, where Carlos Alcaraz is a heavy favorite on the men's side, largely because world

number Jannik Sinner is sadly out injured, but the Italian making the most of his free time. Here he was celebrating Milan's goal at Juventus, while

earlier in the day he was attending the Italian Grand Prix won by his countryman Kimi Antonelli.

Amanda Davies has that. I mean, look, Sinner quite happy in what he saw on the race track. I mean, it was an absolutely phenomenal race. I mean, good

for him for actually being there. I'd love to have been there. Thoughts?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Monza is always one of the most special races on the Formula One calendar.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

DAVIES: So many of the Tifosi, though, of course, wearing the red, the Ferrari red, it takes a whole lot for them to support and get behind

another driver. But when that other driver is the first Italian since 1966 to win his home Grand Prix, it certainly is an occasion. What a moment for

Jannik Sinner to be there watching on.

And he then took the quick hop over to Turin to watch his beloved AC Milan up against Juventus. Didn't all go his way there? But yeah, we've got more

on that and what he's missing, of course, in New York as Carlos Alcaraz putting on a really dominant display.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely.

DAVIES: That's coming up in just couple of minutes there in "World Sport".

ANDERSON: Good. All right, that's "World Sport" after this break. Thanks, Amanda. I'll be back with more "Connect the World" in 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[10:00:00]

END