:00:00. > :00:00.suicide bomb attack in Kabul. We now have an exclusive interview
:00:00. > :00:21.with one of the world's most powerful men, the ruler of Dubai.
:00:22. > :00:30.Your Highness, very nice to meet you. Welcome to Dubai. This is my
:00:31. > :00:34.grandfather's house, where my grandmother and grandfather lived.
:00:35. > :00:42.When I was born, clearly this light, you see? And, no water. This
:00:43. > :00:50.is also where my grandfather, and that is my grandfather. Zimbabwe! A
:00:51. > :00:54.lovely country. Did you just have people knocking on the door saying,
:00:55. > :01:00.I have a problem with my house, can you help me? Yes, he knock on the
:01:01. > :01:07.door. People will be sitting here. So, the ruler will be sitting here,
:01:08. > :01:15.and the people will be here. Yes, so, anyone may come in, and ask to
:01:16. > :01:21.have things done. You know, I remember as a child, trying to climb
:01:22. > :01:28.this. I couldn't. This was my playground. You are going to drive
:01:29. > :01:40.me out into the desert? Yes, and I am not a very good driver. Don't
:01:41. > :01:46.worry! Am a very good driver. -- I am. I just want to ask you, because
:01:47. > :01:54.we are going past the fabulous skyline, was that a vision? Did you
:01:55. > :02:02.have a feeling when you are a child growing up, that one day Dubai would
:02:03. > :02:12.look like this? I will tell you, I was lucky enough, I travelled with
:02:13. > :02:15.my father to Europe, England, and it was always my dream, saying, they
:02:16. > :02:21.have roads, and buildings, and flags. That was my dream. But we
:02:22. > :02:31.would have that here. This was my childhood. Between the Emirates
:02:32. > :02:35.there was no road. If the people are unhappy, how do you know? How do
:02:36. > :02:44.they tell you that they are unhappy? They will tell me. You know, and...
:02:45. > :02:52.For example, from ten years ago to now, they have not changed my phone
:02:53. > :02:58.number. Then everybody knows. The whole country knows my number.
:02:59. > :03:03.Ordinary people know your phone number, and will bring you up? I
:03:04. > :03:15.have two numbers, one for private and one full public. Do you like
:03:16. > :03:21.Twitter? Yes. 2.1 million followers, I see. I like to listen
:03:22. > :03:26.to what they are saying, and not wait until they tell me. They follow
:03:27. > :03:38.you, and why I am doing this, so I can understand. Your Highness, you
:03:39. > :03:52.have just one Expo Twenty20, when we drove out here we saw the cream is
:03:53. > :04:02.busy building. Is to buy back -- Dubai back? This to me is great, for
:04:03. > :04:10.this country to believe. That is the message I got. But, now we have to
:04:11. > :04:15.do something to make it even better for these people who bought it for
:04:16. > :04:24.us, and to make it an excellent Expo. It was only five or six years
:04:25. > :04:29.ago that people were saying Dubai was finished, there was an economic
:04:30. > :04:37.crisis. Yes, some newspapers said that, but it is our mistake we did
:04:38. > :04:43.not answer. We did not say anything. But, during the crisis, it was a
:04:44. > :04:46.challenge and I knew we would overcome it. Therefore, I was happy
:04:47. > :04:54.with my life going on, and the people were saying, how we see... I
:04:55. > :05:00.know that Dubai wasn't finished, and it is back, because it is Dubai.
:05:01. > :05:07.There must have been a moment where you thought, this is really scary.
:05:08. > :05:13.No, I think this is a challenge. I don't get scared from challenges. We
:05:14. > :05:25.face challenges and try to sort them out. Is the problem over? Are all
:05:26. > :05:32.the debts paid off? Yes. The company is going to pay a year ahead, so it
:05:33. > :05:37.is settled. Why do you think, why did you get into this mess? White of
:05:38. > :05:43.the crisis, about? There must be things you have learned about it. Of
:05:44. > :05:49.course, we learn everyday from this. But, it is not us, we are part of
:05:50. > :05:57.this world, and this crisis, or challenge, is... You not like word
:05:58. > :06:16.crisis? Gerry McCann no, it is challenge! -- no, it is challenge.
:06:17. > :06:20.Every day, it is a challenge, and we take it as a challenge. Whenever
:06:21. > :06:25.there is a difficulty or a challenge, someone will come
:06:26. > :06:29.through, and that is just for us. The latest indication say that
:06:30. > :06:35.property prices are rising very sharply, rental prices are going up
:06:36. > :06:42.very fast, are you not worried that another bubble is being inflated
:06:43. > :06:49.over Dubai that could burst again. We have put a law now, you cannot
:06:50. > :06:55.raise the rent over a certain percentage. That will help. I know
:06:56. > :07:03.the expo is coming and people will try to, but we have made sure they
:07:04. > :07:05.do not raise the rent high. As a matter of interest, the Arab Spring,
:07:06. > :07:13.did that turn out to be economic good news for? DubaiBecause,
:07:14. > :07:16.investors who might have been putting their money into Syria or
:07:17. > :07:27.Egypt, or bar rainfall Libya, they thought maybe they would put their
:07:28. > :07:42.money into Dubai instead? High -- I was asked this question, and I was
:07:43. > :07:47.honest. Yes, there is $30 billion, but I told her to remember, if the
:07:48. > :07:57.Arab Spring didn't happen, it would be 60 billion. Did you see the Arab
:07:58. > :08:11.Spring coming? Yes, and I said this when I spoke at the Gulf University
:08:12. > :08:14.in 2004, and I said to the leaders of the Arab world, change or you
:08:15. > :08:22.will be changed. People will look away from you, or try to do that. I
:08:23. > :08:32.don't know the future, but there is an indication, so you can feel it is
:08:33. > :08:45.coming. You cannot live for your nation -- live -- you cannot lie to
:08:46. > :08:52.your country for years and expect them to still believe you. Can
:08:53. > :08:59.President Assad stay in power? Somebody asked me about Syria, and I
:09:00. > :09:06.said it would take a long time. But, if you kill your people you cannot
:09:07. > :09:11.stay. I hope there will be a solution peacefully, with a new
:09:12. > :09:21.elected government. Because he has killed his people, he will go
:09:22. > :09:26.eventually? Eventually he will go. Will you offer any support to the
:09:27. > :09:35.Free Syrian Army, or are you? We are supporting the people of Syria, in
:09:36. > :09:43.Jordan or Turkey, we are helping those. But the Free Syrian Army, you
:09:44. > :09:46.don't know, because there are some extremists and you don't know how
:09:47. > :09:52.many groups of people are now in Syria. You hear that some groups are
:09:53. > :09:54.fighting each other. So, you don't want to do what Carter has done, or
:09:55. > :10:06.Saudi Arabia, want to do what Carter has done, or
:10:07. > :10:15.different. We try to help, and not interfere -- Qatar. It seems that
:10:16. > :10:18.the United Arab Emirates takes very light steps on foreign policy. He
:10:19. > :10:29.doesn't like to show its muscle or its weight in the same way that
:10:30. > :10:34.Qatar does. Perhaps they have the reason or revision, but we don't. We
:10:35. > :10:39.like the Emirates, and it is kind. We don't want to interfere with
:10:40. > :10:45.other people. Nations should say what they want, and we should always
:10:46. > :10:52.help and not interfere. Here in the UAE, you have cracked down quite
:10:53. > :11:08.hard on political Islam. On the Muslim Brotherhood. Is Egypt now
:11:09. > :11:17.better off with General Al-Sisi in charge, then it was with Mohammed
:11:18. > :11:24.Morsi? Much better. I ask them, were they worried about the Muslim
:11:25. > :11:30.Brotherhood being in power, and I said no. I thought they would last
:11:31. > :11:36.only one year, and many people and the army would sort it out. So,
:11:37. > :11:45.therefore, it is better for Egypt. What did they do when they came? See
:11:46. > :11:57.what happened, and see what happens now. Is not that democracy? The
:11:58. > :12:01.people elected Mohammed Morsi. Why did they then go to the streets and
:12:02. > :12:12.squares and save, come on, sort it out. We will see in the next
:12:13. > :12:20.election. Do you think the general will stand? I think he will stay in
:12:21. > :12:23.the army, and someone needs to be elected for the presidency. I think
:12:24. > :12:27.it is important for him to be the head of the army, is a strong man
:12:28. > :12:38.and a good man for Egypt. So, better for head of army then head of state.
:12:39. > :12:49.That is what I think. Can I ask you, we heard about the death of Ariel
:12:50. > :12:53.Sharon this week, how do you see the prospects of peace between the
:12:54. > :12:58.Israelis and Palestinians? Well, between Israel and the Palestinians,
:12:59. > :13:03.one day they came very close to signing, but they didn't sign the
:13:04. > :13:06.peace process. If they had that, and they signed it, of course there
:13:07. > :13:10.would be a bomb here, and a rocket here, but everybody in the whole
:13:11. > :13:15.world would be against them doing that. I promise you, Israel will
:13:16. > :13:21.benefit more than us, because we want to do the best for the area
:13:22. > :13:27.after the peace process. What we are asking, is a country for the
:13:28. > :13:33.Palestinians. And we are accepting Israel, but for the Palestinians you
:13:34. > :13:38.can't just say nothing. The country, no place to stay. So, therefore, if
:13:39. > :13:44.we had signed the peace process, there would be some problem,
:13:45. > :13:51.difficulties, but in time, Israel will benefit. You said you would
:13:52. > :13:53.like to be trading with Israel. After the peace process, we will do
:13:54. > :13:59.everything with Israel. We will trade with them, and work with them
:14:00. > :14:07.and everything. But, signed the peace process. How close do you
:14:08. > :14:14.think they are? Everytime I think they are close, they go away. I
:14:15. > :14:20.think, you see, what happened, with the peace process coming, and there
:14:21. > :14:29.is a rocket going to Israel, which is not accurate, Israel) and hits
:14:30. > :14:34.back. So, action and reaction. It always happens that way. But if we
:14:35. > :14:43.just be strong and sign the peace process, I think it will be better
:14:44. > :14:46.for everybody. I want to ask you about a run, progress has been made
:14:47. > :14:50.in talks about access to run's nuclear facilities, you believe the
:14:51. > :15:02.time is now right to lift sanctions against Iran? I think so, give
:15:03. > :15:11.around some space. -- around. They are our neighbour and we do not want
:15:12. > :15:14.any problems. But if the peace and we agree with the Americans and the
:15:15. > :15:18.Americans agree and to lift the sanctions, everybody will benefit.
:15:19. > :15:29.We suffered from the sanctions on Iran. They are your biggest trading
:15:30. > :15:35.partner. When we suffered we try to open other doors for trading with
:15:36. > :15:40.other countries. To be clear, Iran has done enough in your mind that
:15:41. > :15:48.the sanctions should be listed? I think so. If they allow the people
:15:49. > :15:52.to go and look at their nuclear weapons, they are not making any
:15:53. > :15:59.nuclear, that is dangerous for me also. If they are not, it should be
:16:00. > :16:04.lifted. So the unfairly. You believe that when they say that their
:16:05. > :16:13.nuclear ambitions up purely for civilian nuclear power? I hear that
:16:14. > :16:21.from them, I hear that always, I think they are sometimes saying the
:16:22. > :16:26.truth. I don't think they want... I saw him and I asked him, are you
:16:27. > :16:33.building a nuclear weapon? He said okay, what would I do? If I had the
:16:34. > :16:39.means of transporting this weapon to Israel? How many Palestinians will I
:16:40. > :16:47.kill? The Europeans and the Americans will finish my cities in a
:16:48. > :16:55.run. -- in Iran. The weapons of the past. I want to talk about Dubai and
:16:56. > :17:01.the criticisms made of Dubai about your country's human rights record.
:17:02. > :17:07.We have the case of an American who has been released from prison who
:17:08. > :17:16.made a spoof video about youth culture and was put in prison for
:17:17. > :17:20.several months. Why? We have a law like we cracked the Muslim
:17:21. > :17:23.Brotherhood because everyone to learn and stay and work, they are
:17:24. > :17:28.okay, if they want to go extreme, we do not have room for that. The kid
:17:29. > :17:32.said that he did nothing wrong that had no idea of the crime, and they
:17:33. > :17:35.had no idea how they -- how long they would be in prison for. We were
:17:36. > :17:40.not told of the crime until five months later after we were taken in.
:17:41. > :17:47.For a modern country which you strive to be, is that satisfactory?
:17:48. > :17:52.No, we tried to change it. We are not perfect. We try to change it. We
:17:53. > :17:58.make mistakes and we going and try to change it. We are not perfect. We
:17:59. > :18:03.are doing our best. Do you accept you got it wrong in that case? May
:18:04. > :18:10.be, the judge, I can't talk about the judge of what he saw. What about
:18:11. > :18:14.the Norwegian woman who, she was raped, she went to the police and
:18:15. > :18:19.said as she was raped and she was put in prison herself for having
:18:20. > :18:27.illicit sex outside of marriage. I think she was the victim.
:18:28. > :18:34.Unfortunate. We tried for that not happen again. She was pardoned by
:18:35. > :18:40.you in the end. Maybe the laws need changing. Human Rights Watch who we
:18:41. > :18:45.interviewed said Dubai has the most modern skyline of anywhere in the
:18:46. > :18:52.world but its legal system is from the Dark Ages. Not really. The legal
:18:53. > :18:58.system, we are changing it, everything to suit Dubai and to
:18:59. > :19:08.soothe United Arab Emirates. There is a change coming. Maybe if there
:19:09. > :19:11.is a law which is old, we are going to change it. You need to carry on
:19:12. > :19:18.changing your balls if you're going to carry on attracting -- your
:19:19. > :19:27.cause. If you're going to carry on attracting the best. Yes. Dealing
:19:28. > :19:31.with criticisms of your country, migrant labour that comes here are
:19:32. > :19:41.badly treated. I disagree. The Labour, before sometimes the
:19:42. > :19:45.companies give them less salaries and now we ask all the salaries to
:19:46. > :19:49.go through the banks of the government can say. We can watch
:19:50. > :19:56.these companies and give the rights for the Labour the right salaries.
:19:57. > :19:59.The European command that -- public committee on human rights said the
:20:00. > :20:02.minimum labour standards are not respected, systematic complaints
:20:03. > :20:10.about Paul accommodation, that salaries, I withheld. You will also
:20:11. > :20:16.see very beautiful accommodation for labourers. We built them and we told
:20:17. > :20:24.the companies to build high standards. Your Highness, I want to
:20:25. > :20:29.talk about one other subject which is a subject of great passion to you
:20:30. > :20:35.and your love of horses. How shocked were you when you heard the news
:20:36. > :20:40.that some of your racehorses were being kept at the stables in England
:20:41. > :20:49.that had been doped. I was shocked. Really. I have many trainers and if
:20:50. > :21:00.one of them did the wrong thing, you know, they gave him eight years and
:21:01. > :21:06.I gave him a lifetime. Finished. Are you in touch with him? He comes to
:21:07. > :21:17.see other friends but he will never come near horses. We put an
:21:18. > :21:22.investigator now to really go through everything and meet
:21:23. > :21:26.everybody and I think he is getting independent and he is getting a good
:21:27. > :21:32.job. He has not finished yet but I hope good luck to him. Knowing how
:21:33. > :21:36.closely you watch everything in terms of the way your economy is
:21:37. > :21:41.developing, the legal system, all the rest of it, some people say it
:21:42. > :21:47.is extraordinary that one of your trainers would doped the horses
:21:48. > :21:53.without you knowing. Because he thought, he doped not for racing but
:21:54. > :21:58.for treatment for long-term and they will not come to the races. Now we
:21:59. > :22:04.find out the whole story and we will know what happened. Do you think it
:22:05. > :22:11.damaged your reputation in the racing world? No, of course, if they
:22:12. > :22:17.think that I know, I am clear, I still love horses and racing. What
:22:18. > :22:24.do you still love going to the race meetings. I don't care. I go there,
:22:25. > :22:31.of course. The truth will come out! The truth will come out because the
:22:32. > :22:36.independent investigator is a policeman and he is straight. He
:22:37. > :22:42.will solve it. That will give in to the media. If I wanted to, could use
:22:43. > :22:49.anabolic steroids in Dubai on horses? Not in Dubai and not in the
:22:50. > :23:01.whole United Arab Emirates. It is illegal? Yes. It is illegal now to
:23:02. > :23:09.have it in the shots. A final question. If you were to invite me
:23:10. > :23:12.back in 20 years time and we are still living, how would Dubai be
:23:13. > :23:20.different than? What is your vision for the future? Seem to ride the
:23:21. > :23:24.very -- seeing Dubai today. The other matter I will answer that.
:23:25. > :23:38.Before that I will say something. I'm not doing this for the BBC, I am
:23:39. > :23:47.saying to myself, to put my view to the viewers and to say that Dubai is
:23:48. > :24:00.back in to save the whole world, we are here! And Dubai loves you back.
:24:01. > :24:06.If you say, now, 20 years from now if we are still living, I cannot see
:24:07. > :24:14.what we are driving, my vision is for Dubai to be number one. Happiest
:24:15. > :24:17.nation, all of that way. We want to be number one. They give very much,
:24:18. > :24:30.your Highness. A pleasure. After a night where we have seen
:24:31. > :24:31.some heavy showers we have got