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Quest Means Business

Africa Leaders Summit; Investing in Africa; Dow Reverses Losses; Most European Markets Down; Possible Ebola Case in New York; Aiding Ebola- Stricken Nations; Guinea President on Ebola Outbreak; Sanctions Hit Russian Travel

Aired August 04, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

(SIMULCAST WITH CNN USA)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And there we now leave our colleagues at CNN in the United States, bringing us the latest information

on the proposed cease-fire, which will -- is due to take effect from tomorrow morning between Israel and the Palestinians, and between Hamas.

We'll obviously have the details on that in the hours ahead as more details become available. It's only just been announced. And while we await those

details, we turn to the other very big agenda item.

Good evening to you, I'm Richard Quest, tonight reporting from Washington, DC, where tonight, of course, Africa faces a dire crisis on multiple

fronts, as nearly 50 heads of state and governments are gathering in the US capital. They are trying to secure the investment, which Africa needs,

which will steer it through severe economic and geopolitical problems.

And of course, high on the agenda, in West Africa, governments are wrestling with the worst Ebola outbreak in history as the death toll rises.

And tonight, the World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, will be joining me in the next hour to discuss his response to the crisis and the response from

the World Bank. You'll hear him on the program.

In Ghana, an economic crisis is brewing. Never mind brewing, it's brewed. The government there has asked for emergency help from the International

Monetary Fund. You're going to get the reaction, tonight, from the head of Africa's biggest bank, what's gone wrong in Ghana and whether or not the

money can be put right.

Finally, a challenge investing in Africa itself. In a moment, you'll hear from the chief exec of General Electric, GE, one of the world's largest

companies -- Jeffrey Immelt is the CEO -- and the Swedish finance minister, both of whom have today announced major funding for Africa.

Here in Washington, leaders say the US-Africa summit will define the fate of Africa's next generation. The potential is vast -- Africa is around 15

percent of the world's population, but only around 2 percent of GDP. As the U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, said, the opportunity isn't just

raw materials and commodities anymore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, US SECRETARY OF STATE: It's the decisions that are made or the decisions that are deferred that will ultimately determine whether Africa

mines the continent's greatest natural resource of all, and that is not platinum, it's not gold, it's not oil. It's the talent and capacity and

aspirations of its people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: John Kerry, the US secretary of state. One company which has been active in Africa for a century is General Electric, GE. Jeffrey Immelt has

been vocal about the need for the US companies to engage in Africa.

GE announced today a plan to invest $2 billion in the continent over the next four years. There are key areas. Speaking to me, Mr. Immelt said his

company's poised to benefit from Africa's economic growth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFFREY IMMELT, CEO, GENERAL ELECTRIC: We've seen extremely fast growth. We're a big infrastructure company, so clearly, what we sell is what they

need, and that's a good fit.

So, the $2 billion is really going to go in three areas. It's going to go into infrastructure, infrastructure projects, localization -- so, we're

building factories in South Africa and Nigeria, things like that -- and kind of training centers, an innovation center in South Africa, a hospital

training center, things like that. So, it's all about growth and where we see the opportunity.

QUEST: How can you do all of this and do it -- when I say "safely," I'm talking about with minimum risk. Because Africa is also a land of -- a

continent of risk.

IMMELT: I think business today is all risk-reward. In other words, I think if you look at business anywhere in the world today, it's a function of

what's the reward for the risk you might make.

So, let's look at Nigeria. Nigeria has a 40 gigawatt deficit of electricity . They have enough natural gas in the country to fulfill their

needs. They've got new power-purchase agreements and things like that coming in.

So, we may moderate our risk in terms of how much we're going to put in at any given point, and we're building a factory there, things like that. But

he upside's vast, and we've seen that kind of growth over the last five or six years.

QUEST: And yet, if we take at this very moment, you've got problems in the north of Nigeria, with Boko Haram, which obviously you have to be concerned

about. You've got problems on the west of Africa with Ebola. So, every time we turn around --

IMMELT: Look, I think human safety is always paramount, right? So, in other words, we're not in the countries where there's Ebola. We have to be

very careful where there's danger. But we're doing -- a dozen gas turbines with Aliko Dangote for his cement factories.

We're doing engines with Arik Air. We're doing power purchase projects alongside people like Blackstone and things like that. So, the

infrastructure demand doesn't go away as these kind of volatility goes on in these regions.

QUEST: But that raises the question, what's your appetite for risk in these environments?

IMMELT: Again, I lead a publicly traded investor-owned company, so I'm not in it to waste money. But I think what we do is we say, look. Here's how

much we're willing to invest in South Africa, or what we're willing to invest in Nigeria, and here's what the upside is. And over the past 15

years, Richard, the risk-reward equation has been massively on the side of GE investors.

QUEST: How far -- because I noticed some of where your money's going -- how far is it carrot and stick on these bigger issues of transparency of

governance, compliance, that these countries need what you do. There's no question about that.

IMMELT: No doubt about it.

QUEST: No question.

IMMELT: Yes.

QUEST: But you are in a strong position to lead with best practice.

IMMELT: Oh, look. I think we have great governance standards, given just the US systems are really good.

QUEST: Right.

IMMELT: But what I would say is, Richard, look, what we -- when we're willing to put, let's say, even $10 million into a power project, it gives

it the GE stamp of approval. And when you give it the GE stamp of approval, that might drag in another half a billion dollars in terms of

infrastructure funds or sovereign wealth funds that say, look, if GE can underwrite this risk, we're willing to come in.

So, our power here, if you will, our strength, if you will, is being a publicly-traded US high-profile, high-reputation company when we're willing

to put money in a project, other people come.

QUEST: So, what do you now need from -- and when I say what do you need from Africa, I'm aware that's like saying how long is a piece of string.

What do you now need from government and from industry in Africa?

IMMELT: Look I think the transparency around the funding mechanisms for infrastructure projects. If you go Bangladesh -- Bangladesh is a tough

country. They have a perfectly transparent power-purchase agreement that's highly investable.

So, you have banks from all over the world borrowing money to Bangladesh. So, that's number one. Number two is, you need an SME community. We need

a supply chain that can be localized in these countries --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: That's so difficult --

IMMELT: -- and that's been slow to come.

QUEST: That's so difficult --

IMMELT: Yes.

QUEST: -- because that's grass roots up.

IMMELT: But you know, Richard, look. We -- about six years ago, we built a joint venture to make locomotives in South Africa, alongside Transnet.

Over those six years, it's become one of the most productive, efficient locomotive assembly plants. So, that's the advantage -- that's why,

actually, we're welcome in these places.

QUEST: Why do I -- why am I still skeptical?

IMMELT: Because you should be.

QUEST: But I am!

IMMELT: In other words, look, I think there's an equal danger to being overly optimistic as there is to being overly pessimistic. Here's what I

would say: Africa as a region since the year 2000 has grown their economy 5.5 percent a year, right? Even through the financial crisis. And their

infrastructure stinks.

So, if you could get electrification, if you could get some of the rudimentary problems of infrastructure solved, you really do have a good

entrepreneural community, you've got a growing population, you've got better governance -- not perfect governance. But you should be skeptical.

QUEST: Do they get it, do you think? Do you think the governance community, do you thin the governments get it?

IMMELT: Oh, look, I think it's -- look, it's better today, right? It's better today. It's not perfect. But I would say one of the things that

could actually help it is if you could start getting some regional integration that would take place, which has been slow to come. That still

is a place that -- it's still 53 or 54 individual actors in Africa, and that still makes it hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: That's the chief exec of GE, Jeffrey Immelt, talking to me at the Africa summit earlier today. Now the markets. And the Dow fell at the

beginning of the day, and then reversed itself as investors tried to make sense of last week's losses.

Amazon was up after the company announce it's doubled the number of apps available for download. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, it's an interesting

company, developing a treatment for Ebola, finished the day down 7 percent. It had seen a huge spike.

MAP Pharmaceutical, a division of Allergen, is also working on an anti- Ebola treatment. We'll be talking more about Ebola in just a moment.

As to Europe, where the day -- well, look at the numbers, they tell their own sorry story. Zurich was down 1.25 points. Bond yields fell, bank

stocks rose. It was Portugal which announced a bailout for BES. Shares in Banco Comercial Portugal rose 6 percent, shares of HSPC up as well, despite

a slowdown in the first half.

When we're back in a moment, the West African nation of Guinea has lost more than 350 people to Ebola. You're going to hear from the country's

president on what the international community must do to contain the vicious killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: A patient in New York is being tested for Ebola and has been place in strict isolation. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a high

fever and reported recent travel to an infected country in West Africa.

Now, funding packages are being put together for the West African nations that are being badly affected by the virus. The African Development Bank

is to disperse $50 million to help strained health systems in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, according to Reuters news agency. The World

Bank's expected to offer aid. President Jim Yong Kim is hoping to join us later in this program here in Washington.

The outbreak's on the minds of more than 40 heads of state from Africa who are in Washington for the US-Africa business summit. More than 350 people

have died in Guinea. President Alpha Conde spoke to -- exclusively to Isha Sesay about the efforts his country are now taking to contain the disease.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHA CONDE, PRESIDENT OF GUINEA (through translator): I believe that WHO, just like MSF, know that we did the maximum amount. As soon as we were

aware of it, we did everything that we could.

And the one issue that we did have, the problem we had, was that people in that region, didn't want doctors to come see them because they were afraid.

I even went to that region, I traveled to Gueckedou to talk to the people and to explain to them. So, Guinea took all measures necessary.

However, as you know, it's difficult with this population to prevent everybody from traveling. It's very difficult to keep them from traveling.

But Guinea did do everything possible.

Now people are not able to take a plane from the airport unless they've had their temperature taken. If people had been in contact with those who have

been infected, then they are not able to travel. So, we are putting these measures in place. And in Conakry, we don't have hardly any problems.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You mention the international community there. Are they doing enough to support you?

CONDE (through translator): I think that international public opinion needs to realize that Ebola is something that concerns the entire world, and we

need to have stronger mobilization on the part of the international community. We need to have a stronger response by the Americans, by other

governments.

We have some governments that have sent doctors over, but we need to also have greater assistance for protecting these doctors and have more measures

in place to protect health workers. For example, since people are somewhat afraid and don't often come to the doctor, sometimes doctors have to go out

to them.

So, we have to make sure that these doctors are being protected, and we need to have a stronger international response. We need to see Ebola as an

international phenomenon. Everybody needs to get involved. That's why we need support on every level, support for laboratories, for personnel, and

financial support. This is all extremely important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: President Conde of Guinea talking exclusively to Isha Sesay. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight from the US capital in Washington. How

sanctions against Russia are impacting Russian tourists around the globe. We'll have that story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and the European Union are now starting to have some very unusual effects. Tens of

thousands of Russian tourists are stranded abroad after a string of Russian travel companies failed. Apparently, the crisis in Ukraine and sanctions

have hurt the industry.

For those Russians still waiting to travel, it's now getting much more difficult. As Phil Black explains, it doesn't matter whether you're flying

on a budget airline or a private jet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dobrolet is run by Russia's national carrier, Aeroflot. It is the country's first and only

recently-launched budget airline, and now it is the first high-profile casualty of the escalating sanctions targeting Russia over the crisis in

Ukraine.

This is a direct result of the latest round of sanctions announced by the European Union last week. The EU says it has targeted this airline because

it flies to Crimea, and so it's facilitating the illegal annexation of that territory. It says it is continuing to undermine the sovereignty of

Ukraine.

Aeroflot says as a result of this, European partners have started pulling out of deals for maintenance, insurance, leasing, and navigation services.

It describes the pressure as unprecedented and says it had no choice but to cancel flights and ticket sales.

BLACK (on camera): This is significant, because it is the first major Russian operation to throw up its hands and say it cannot go on because of

sanctions. Up until now, entities and individuals targeted by sanctions have effectively shrugged them off. Some have worn them as a badge of

honor. All have said they would be able to continue operating normally, albeit perhaps with some inconvenience.

BLACK (voice-over): One recent admission of inconvenience comes from the Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, said to be a very close associate of

Vladimir Putin. He now says that the US company Gulf Stream is refusing to service and maintain his private jet. It can't fly, it remains parked on

the ground here in Moscow.

Asked how he now gets around, he says in a worst-case scenario, he can charter flights, but it's not very convenient.

Phil Black, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Earlier, I asked the General Electric chief exec what Russian sanctions meant to his company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMMELT: Oh, we watch it very closely. Again, I think we follow the lead of our own government there. If you go even to the sanctions that were

announced last week, it's still a small part of our total business in Russia, and we'll follow the lead of the US government.

We'll keep doing business, and I think that's what our -- our government wants us to keep doing -- engaging there.

QUEST: But you don't -- you're not yet at the position where many companies in their last reports were saying we now need to warn against a risk of

doing business. There could be a --

IMMELT: It's still a small portion of the business we do do in Russia. So, it will have an impact, and we'll see how it goes. But the president and

the US government has done a good job of communicating with business in terms of where the sanctions go, and we'll follow their lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Jeffrey Immelt. Now, the World Bank is mobilizing emergency funding to help combat the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The bank's

president will be here to discuss this with us in the next half hour. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we are in Washington tonight. Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment, but this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes

first.

Egypt's negotiating for a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian factions. Egyptian officials tell CNN the truce would take

effect tomorrow morning. A senior Hamas official says that the Palestinian delegation has agreed. Israel has also reportedly agreed.

A patient at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York is being tested for Ebola after being admitted to the facility with symptoms. Meanwhile, a top

secret drug is being credited with saving the life of the first Ebola patient that's now being treated in the United States.

In Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists are struggling to keep control of the eastern cities of Donetsk and Lugansk. Ukrainian forces are closing in on

the two cities. There are reports they have the city of Donetsk surrounded.

The US government is hosting more than 40 African leaders in Washington. The Obama administration hopes the three-day summit will reinforce economic

ties with Africa as Asian and European countries boost their own investments in the continent. General Electric has announced it will put

$2 billion into projects in Africa. Earlier today, GE's chief exec, Jeffrey Immelt, told me the upside's enormous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMMELT: I lead a publicly-traded investor-owned company, so I'm not in it to waste money. But I think what we do is we say, look. Here's how much

we're willing to invest in South Africa, or what we're willing to invest in Nigeria, and here's what the upside is. And over the past 15 years,

Richard, the risk-reward equation has been massively on the side of GE investors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Dignitaries from across Europe were in Belgium commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I. It marks the day Germany invaded Belgium

and Britain declared war on Germany. Sixteen million people were killed during that war which lasted more than four years.

The World Bank has just announced it is mobilizing $200 million in funding to help fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The money will be used in

three (inaudible) it'll be used to contain the spread of the virus. It'll be used to help the communities involved and it will be used to help

improve public health services. More on the president of the World Bank joins me now -- President Jim Yong Kim.

JIM YONG KIM, PRESIDENT, WORLD BANK: Richard, good to see you.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir. The two -- let's start with -- we're going to obviously talk Africa in more general terms, but -- we must

start with Ebola. Tell me what this money's going for.

KIM: Well, it's for very specific needs, you know, for drugs, for salaries for health workers. We've put money directly into the government, so the

three governments that are facing the crisis now will get direct support from us. But the other thing we're trying to do is we want to point out

that, you know, this can happen to any country. What countries need is a functioning public health infrastructure. You know, I was at the World

Health Organization in 2003 during the SARS epidemic and what we found was that this kind of a problem can happen in many places in the world, and the

lesson that China, for example, took from this was they built a public health infrastructure. We need to do that now in these African countries.

QUEST: I mean, if there was ever the right president at the World Bank in the right place at the right time, you are the man for the job. This is

your specialty, isn't it?

KIM: I am an infectious disease doctor, yes, sir.

QUEST: Right. So, Doctor, the seriousness of this situation and the ability to contain it -- it's not contained yet.

KIM: No, it's not, and it's going to take some months to do that. So what's the seriousness? This is the largest epidemic ever of Ebola. It's

in three countries, it's extended to the capital cities. And as predicted, the mortality rate is upwards of 60-70 percent. This is very serious

epidemic. The good news is that there are things we can do right now to lessen the impact, to prevent the spread and moreover, this is a wakeup

call. We need to build that public health infrastructure. We're going to commit to doing it.

QUEST: Just pausing one second, if I may, Mr. President. I do need to bring some breaking news. We've just heard that Israel has agreed to an

Egyptian cease-fire proposal according to an Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev. An Egyptian official described it as a pure humanitarian

cease-fire with no military action allowed. We'll follow up on that in just a moment.

There's so many areas we need to talk about. A few more on Ebola, then we'll come to Africa generally, sir.

KIM: Sure.

QUEST: President Sirleaf said to me the other day on this program, she said we need everything. We need everything. Personal protection, more people,

more doctors. This $200 million is -- is it -- it's not enough by any means, but it's a good start for others to contribute into it.

KIM: Right, it's a good start and because we can move it quickly and it can go directly to the governments, we think that it will be very helpful.

But, you know, a couple of things, Richard. One of the things I've learned is that it's critical for the World Health Organization to lead. Margaret

Chan, the director-general of the World Health Organization was in charge of the SARS response in Hong Kong. She knows what she's doing. We cannot

have all the different organizations doing whatever it is that they want. This is to the countries under the leadership of the World Health

Organization. We've got to have a disciplined, organized response.

QUEST: Now, I'm reading between the lines here, Mr. President.

KIM: Sure.

QUEST: And I'm reading between the lines that you see the potential for disparate voices, disparate organizations -- however so well-meaning --

and things start to fray and crack.

KIM: This is always a possibility, and right now I think -- I think -- Dr. Chan and WHO have taken a very, very strong lead and the important

thing for the rest of us is to follow their lead. There has to be a commander. This is a very -- requires a very disciplined response, and

we were -- I was -- there in Geneva, you know in 2003. Without that disciplined response, things could go bad.

QUEST: Talking about Africa generally, we've got Ghana that's going back to the IMF, we've got Ebola on the west -- west coast of Africa. We've got

Jeffrey Immelt saying the potential is vast. What does the World Bank -- what's your role in this?

KIM: This is why I specifically wanted to link the two, because Ebola could've happened, you know, -- a viral disease like this could have

happened in any part of the world. This does not define Africa. We now have to step up and fight this, but what really defines Africa in my view

-- and most people don't understand this. From 2008 to 2013, during the financial crisis, Africa was growing at greater than 5 percent.

Their debt to GDP ratio across the continent is 34 percent. I think, you know, almost any country in the developed world would like to have that

kind of debt to GDP ratio. Their central bank's monetary policy is sound. Their macroeconomic fundamental is sound, they've been growing, there's

lots of great stories in Africa, and we agree with Jeff Immelt. The opportunities there for great returns are -- is -- very high. People

just don't understand it.

QUEST: Risks are high as well but that goes with the territory. Finally, what's the one thing now -- because what worries me whenever I look --

I said to Jeffrey -- I said I'm not cynical about the African growth situation or the business, but I'm skeptical because we've been down this

road before. And money gets siphoned off, bad governance comes in to play and suddenly everybody in ten years' time says, 'What on earth went wrong?'

KIM: Well, there's a lot of things that are different than before. We didn't have this -- this many known reserves of natural resources before.

I mean, the oil reserves, the natural resources that we've been finding just had never been around before. Also, governance is better. You know,

there's no question that countries like Rwanda and many others have really now led the world. Rwanda's the only country in the world that more than

50 percent of the legislators are women.

So there are very many great stories in Africa. Our job at the World Bank Group, with our private-sector wing, is to make those deals. Put those

deals together so that people understand more clearly what the real risk and reward is. People think of Ebola and think that's risk in Africa.

That is not the story. It's one story, we're going to help clean that story up, the rest of Africa is a place where -- that's going to continue

to grow and not only here in the United States. Americans have a role, but businesses all over the world can play a very important role. You can have

win-wins all around -- good returns along with really strong impact on the ground.

QUEST: Sir, thank you very much.

KIM: Thank you.

QUEST: Good to see you as always. Thank you for coming in --

KIM: Thank you.

QUEST: -- (inaudible) indeed. Allow me to remind you of our other breaking news. Israel has agreed to an Egyptian cease-fire proposal according to

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. An Egyptian official described it as a pure humanitarian cease-fire with no military action allowed. This is

"Quest Means Business." We're live in Washington this evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Let's continue our discussion on the African leaders summit in Washington. The 600 million people in sub-Saharan African live without

electricity and that forces them to rely on dirty and expensive power sources. The Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg has announced a $1

billion investment in electrification in Africa on top of the $7 billion the U.S. has put towards the efforts. Minister Borg joins me now. Good to

see you as always, sir. Why have you -- why have you -- why'd you gone for this one?

ANDERS BORG, SWEDISH FINANCE MINISTER: Well, I mean obviously, I mean, growth is key for also the Swedish economy, and Africa is growing and if

they are going to continue to grow, we need to see more electricity coming up. And it's quite important for us if it's produced in a sustainable way.

So we think that the Power Africa initiative is a very efficient way of getting electricity out in the African continent.

QUEST: No one would disagree with the goals and the principles, it's the practice by which you get there. So when you give this billion, you've

also -- and guarantees and (inaudible) -- you've also got to put in strong monitoring provisions.

BORG: Well, most definitely and we don't want to see our money wasted. But, I mean, the growth opportunities are there. This is a continent that

we did -- about two billion people in a couple of decades. They need to maybe 20-fold their electricity production. If that is going to happen

without the huge increase of carbon oxide emissions, I think there is a responsibility for us to prop (ph) them up.

QUEST: Should this be an individual government level or say, for example, the E.U. level or both?

BORG: Well, we are in a partnership here with the U.S. government, and we think that the organization that they have set up is very efficient.

QUEST: What makes this particular mechanism better than the others? Because you have probably many opportunities for different other ones. Why

this one?

BORG: Well, I -- we -- think actually the fact that the U.S. is combining private initiative using the market, and at the same time, really

driving for efficiency and deliberate -- deliverables -- is crucial. My feeling is that the administration is pushing really, really hard to

achieve the goals of powering Africa. So, therefore, for us this is an opportunity to be part of that.

QUEST: The opportunities are enormous, no question about it. The governance issues are much better. You heard the president of the World

Bank saying that. So, what more do -- does -- Western countries all -- what more needs to be done to bring this process further along?

BORG: Well, I mean, we have launched this during this summit a taskforce together --

QUEST: Right.

BORG: -- give us idea on pension investments. Well we think that we need to set reliable conditions where European and U.S. pension funds can go in

for the long term and thereby building ports, road, electricity and other facilities.

QUEST: That's the key. Now, I need to just quickly talk to you about sanctions in Russia, if we may. Obviously you're well (inaudible) coming

here. We're starting to see the first effects. Today we've heard one low- cost carrier Dobrolet stopped flying and an oligarch says he can't get his jet -- his private jet -- serviced. When do you now start to expect to

see the screw-tightening, and when will Europeans have to revisit given the next stage?

BORG: Well, I think the first week of this policy from the Russian government is the growth in Russia, and the long-term investment prospects

for Russia. And that will obviously hurt them, but it will also have side effects for the rest of us. I --

QUEST: Are you seeing any side -- do you think you'll see side effects in Sweden?

BORG: Most definitely. I think we will see effects on Swedish companies and European companies. And I think we should accept that. We need to set

a firm line here. We cannot accept an aggressive, populistic policy against European neighbors. So, yes, sanction is not perfect, but we have

to send the signal here.

QUEST: And are you talking to chief execs in your country basically saying to them, 'Listen, you're going to hurt, but this is a wider issue that the

government is involved with?

BORG: I think there is a clear acceptance --

QUEST: Really?

BORG: -- well I think there is a clear acceptance that we cannot let this continue. You cannot break the rules of international cooperation and

there will be no effect. So, I must say that we are supportive of sanctions. If the Russians are withdrawing the support of this irregular

structures in Eastern Ukraine, well, then we can withdraw on the sanctions. If they are pushing harder, well, then we will have to accept the fact that

that could mean even harder sanctions. And we cannot say that this is an issue of growth or business.

QUEST: Minister, a busy day. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

BORG: Thank you very much.

QUEST: We'll be back with more in a moment from Washington. "Quest Means Business." Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Companies developing treatments for Ebola have seen their shares rising quite dramatically. The gains have been exceptionally volatile.

Shares of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals ended down 7 percent whilst earlier in the session, they had been up 26 percent. It was all reversed after CNN

reported two Americans suffering from Ebola were being treated by a drug made by a privately-held Mapp Biopharmaceuticals. You get the idea of the

way things are moving -- everybody is looking for the drug company that might provide the final answer on Ebola. Jim Bolden reports on why there's

still no Ebola vaccine decades after the infectious disease was discovered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A vaccine won't help these victim of the Ebola virus and it is unlikely to prevent the next outbreak.

Why? Well, the man who helped discover the virus nearly 40 years ago says there are still many unanswered questions.

PETER PIOT, LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE: We don't know enough how to treat someone with this viral infection with Ebola. We don't

know exactly how to prevent it through a vaccine and we don't know also how exactly the virus causes deaths.

BOULDEN: Some pharmaceutical firms are working on potential drug treatments for those who are infected. But these studies are only in the animal-

testing stage. And, as of yet, no human trials have been officially allowed.

DR. IAN JONES, UNIVERSITY OF READING: Overall, the numbers are quite low in terms of mortality worldwide. The other issue of course is because you

don't know when the next outbreak will occur, the vaccine would have to be stockpiled and held in some sort of secure situation where it didn't go

off. And most vaccines do have a shelf life.

BOULDEN: Trials of a vaccine on primates have been taking place with the blessing of the National Institutes for Health in the United States. NIH

says it's closer to getting the vaccine into the early phases of trial, perhaps as early as next month, allowing the vaccine to be available in

limited form by the end of 2015. Some of the money for trials of vaccines and treatments is coming from the Defense Departments of some Western

nations.

JONES: The military and the defense regimes certainly are aware of this agent as a possible agent of bioterrorism and are working on methods to

control it.

BOULDEN: Still, the challenges on the ground go way beyond prevention and cure.

PIOT: Then we have the major issue of, you know, the distrust in Liberia in the Sierra Leone particularly, also in the government and health services.

Some people have even accused Western doctors who come there to experiment on people. So we have to deal with that as well.

BOULDEN: The most effective way to stop the spread of Ebola at the moment is early diagnosis and quick isolation of those infected -- not an easy

task in countries where the healthcare system is already broken or non- existent. Jim Boulden, CNN London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, I must update you on the cease-fire between Palestinian factions including Hamas and the Israeli government. Martin Savidge joins

me now from Gaza City. Martin, we hear that the Palestinians have agreed to it, Israelis now have agreed to it. So what is the way forward? It

takes effect tomorrow, is that correct?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. Eight o'clock tomorrow morning local times, it's supposed to be 72 hours, supposed to be

unconditional and it is supposed to be now that all sides have agreed to it. We're still waiting to hear if Israel will in fact travel to attend

those talks -- that would seem to be a critical next step in this whole process.

And then there are a number of details that still have to be worked out on this one. You know, remember Israel has maintained in any of the previous

cease-fires that there were a couple of things it still had to be allowed to do. One of them was of course, continue the demolition of the tunnels

it says -- it describes them as 'terror tunnels' that need from Gaza into Israel. And then the other thing that they said was that they would keep

their troops inside of Gaza or they had the right to do so.

And then there's the question about the ongoing operation to the south in Rafah -- where does that fit in all of this, because there is still

strikes and artillery happening down there right now. We know there've been a number of residents that have been hit, and there are continuing

casualties down in that area. So, you know, these are the kind of details that can shatter a cease-fire. Exactly under what terms do the Israelis

see this and what terms do the Palestinians?

QUEST: You see, you put your finger exactly on the point there, Martin, because the last cease-fire which failed spectacularly after 90 minutes was

largely because of operations by Israel in Rafah which of course led to Palestinian activities. One said they were entitled, the other said they

weren't. Do we have any idea what's in this agreement?

SAVIDGE: Well, I mean, the basic understanding of it right now is that first of all everybody stops shooting, and then the next step is to move

forward on negotiating what -- this is a humanitarian cease-fire, so clearly what they want to do is work forward with the details of, all

right, how do we turn it into a longstanding cease-fire?

And that's the other step that's going to be difficult, because prior to this, Hamas maintained that there were a number of things it demanded --

first of all, Israeli troops out of Gaza, it demanded that all military action on the part of the Israelis stop, it demanded that the embargo be

lifted against Gaza and that there be free travel and exchange and then limitation of the security barriers. And their list was fairly lengthy.

Now, it would seem that's all gone away, but you know it's going to come back again at some point because this is not just Hamas saying that's it,

we've capitulated, we'll give you everything. So, let me just say, anybody would be welcoming the fact that there is talk of a cease-fire.

QUEST: Right.

SAVIDGE: In 72 hours is a wonderful first step. Today was seven hours -- that was great.

QUEST: Martin Savidge joining us from Gaza City. Martin, thank you. Across the world, the topics are heating up. We need to update you what's

happening with the world weather forecast. Alexandra Steele is at the World Weather Center.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Richard. You know, the Saffer- Simpson scale being fully realized here, OK. Look at all that we've got -

- everything from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a category 4 hurricane to a category 1 hurricane to a Typhoon Halong we've been

watching which is commensurate to a category 1 hurricane. So let's start things off. Here we have Hurricane Iselle. You can see -- incredibly

organized, it's a cat 4, but this one most likely at its peak right now because the ocean temperature here is about 26 degrees Celsius, and that is

just warm enough to maintain the strength of this hurricane.

So, most likely at its peak, it will continue its track and Thursday night get in toward the Hawaiian Islands, most likely though as a tropical storm

-- not as a hurricane. All right, also we have Hurricane Bertha, the second we've seen. It's

actually the first time the first two storms -- the A and B storm both became hurricanes since 1992.

So here's Bertha. Of course this is the U.S. coast. Right here, that's the Gulf of Mexico, this is the Atlantic, there's Florida, you can see

Jacksonville and Tampa. Here's the storm right here -- Bertha -- not very organized and it certainly doesn't look that impressive, but it did

become a hurricane. You can see it right here. Then what's going happen is we're going to watch this thing move, and believe it or not, really, by

all the faith (ph), it goes right between and splits the decision between the coast of the East Coast and Bermuda. So looks like, believe it or not,

as close as it's coming, it will not make landfall, so that is certainly good news.

Talk about extremes weather-wise, you've got the hottest temperature ever reported -- ever -- in Latvia right here. It happened on Monday ---

37.8 degrees, well above the average. And then conversely, in Australia in Adelaide the coldest morning they've ever seen for this month. So, some

incredibly extreme weather around the country, not only temperature-wise. But to Typhoon Halong we go. We've been watching it. You can see 175

kilometer per-hour winds. It to just like the depression earlier here that moved through Japan bringing just a record rainfall, it too Southern Japan

beginning to make its move. Expected to make it there maybe by Thursday - - kind of watching the track on this.

But before we had Halong, we had what became Tropical Depression Nakri and, boy, did that do damage. Places like Kochi had their wettest day on record

-- the fourth wettest day they've ever had on record courtesy of these two storms. Now, Richard, more rain moving to Southern Japan as well as this

next typhoon makes its way in the next couple of days.

QUEST: Good Lord, an extraordinary amount of busy weather we've had. All right, thank you very much indeed. The busy weather goes with the busy

day. I'll have a "Profitable Moment" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." We're here in Washington of course because of the U.S. Africa business summit. The land of opportunity --

everybody says time and again the size of the market, the rate of growth, the greater population that will be there for business in the future. And

that's why when we hear people like Jeffrey Immelt talk about risk reward, we need to take it seriously. And, indeed, while we must listen closely as

he said on this program, the president of the World Bank, Africa is not Ebola and Ebola is not Africa. The two must need to be divorced.

But I still maintain a certain skepticism because no doubt, Africa creates a huge market in the future, but bear in mind Ghana had most of its debts

written off in 2005, and Ghana this week is once again back at the IMF. It makes the point the risks and rewards, you have every right to be

skeptical. And that's "Quest Means Business" for tonight. I'm "Richard Quest" in Washington. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, (RINGS

BELL) I hope it's profitable. See you tomorrow.

END