[Anderson:] It's just after half past 7:00 in the evening in the UAE. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. It's been a year of will they or won't they. The world's biggest oil company Saudi Aramco teasing investors with if and when they'll go public. Its CEO now says it could be happening very soon. And let me tell you, this will be a very big deal. The Saudis believe the company is worth $2 trillion. Yes, you heard me right, $2 trillion. While some insiders say it's closer to $1.5 trillion, that is still an awful lot of zeros. Aramco is the world's most profitable company, surpassing Apple and Google. Its listing could make it the largest IPO ever by some distance. Now the IPO, the centerpiece of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030. He plans to diversify the Saudi economy. We've seen big moves in the last week. John Defterios has been working his sources at the World Energy Congress here in Abu Dhabi. You couldn't have been in a better place. What are you hearing?
[John Defterios, Cnn Emerging Markets Editor:] Yes, this is a pretty massive scrum that we got right in front of the CEO. The narrative has changed radically since we had the conversation on Sunday with Abdulaziz taking over as the minister of energy. Amin Nasser has always told me we're ready because Aramco has its books in order and it's ready to go for the IPO. It has changed to we'll be ready very soon. Then he popped in on the same answer and suggested that Riyadh is not only the preferred market, it's the primary market. They're going to go out domestically but perhaps with the biggest share offering in Riyadh itself, which is a home field advantage. Take a look at the gigantic scrum we had and the interchange we had in that crazy pack of oil journalists I see very often around the world.
[Amin Nasser, Aramco Ceo:] That's a shareholder decision when it comes to this, as I always say, the decision is with the shareholders. From Aramco side, we always say we are ready for whatever the decision is locally, which is going to be the primary listing, it still is locally. But you also ready also for listing outside the in other districts.
[Defterios:] Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt. The other jurisdiction would be a Tokyo preference so there's less litigation?
[Nasser:] It's a shareholder decision.
[Defterios:] Do you have a preference for that?
[Nasser:] We are ready, as I say, to list wherever the shareholder decides. We are
[Anderson:] The very fact they're going for a Saudi listing in the first instance is to sop up the liquidity that exists in Saudi and there is some liquidity there. But they've not
[Defterios:] No resistance to Riyadh, too, which I think is
[Anderson:] Right. But they must be disappointed. The idea of this was to get Saudi Aramco into New York or London. Why what's been the problem? defense There's a couple key points on that. I'm glad you brought it up because New York, you're opening yourself up to potential litigation, both from the 911 victims, of course
[Defterios:] always been
[Anderson:] Fascinating. Stay with it. I think a pack of oil journalists is known as a slick of journalists.
[Defterios:] This is a group that travels around the world. We all know each other so it gets fairly aggressive but fun.
[Anderson:] Yes. All right, well, you stood your ground. We're going to take you to the country of Georgia now. It's a nation of medieval castles, religious shrines and the stunning beauty of the Caucasus Mountains. It's in those mountains you can experience a brand of adventure tourism that's truly special. It's the latest edition of what is our series, "Destination Georgia." Have a look at this.
[Unidentified Male:] Nestled among the great Caucasus Mountains, this is Stepantsminda. The town is located on the foothills of Georgia's third highest peak, Mt. Kazbegi. Now this is a thrill seeker's paradise. In recent years, paragliding has really taken flight in Georgia.
[Alexander Iskandarov, Paraglider:] Paragliding is one of the best way to exploring and
[Unidentified Male:] Alexander Iskandarov is an adventure guide and one of Georgia's pioneer paragliders.
[Iskandarov:] Paragliding in Georgia is very important, because my aim is to share this experience to new people, inspire people to explore Georgia in a different way.
[Unidentified Male:] Early afternoon, as the winds pick up, it's time to take to the skies.
[Iskandarov:] When I'm paragliding, I feel only freedom because I can control the speed, I can control the space and motion.
[Unidentified Male:] Starting out when he was 16, he got the flying bug from his grandmother.
[Iskandarov:] Back in the '60s, she was a skydiver in Georgia. She was about 23 years old. At this time it was a very unique experience, especially for women.
[Unidentified Male:] An increasing number of tourists are coming to Georgia specifically to paraglide. One of them is Christine Gschwandtl from Austria.
[Christine Gschwandtl, Paraglider:] There is a lot to explore here, paragliding into
[Unidentified Male:] As the day of flying comes to an end and the adrenaline rush subsides, for Alex, one last pleasure remains, to sit back and delight in the view of these rugged mountains.
[Iskandarov:] Georgia is amazing because here is everything is wild. Amazing for all activities.
[Unidentified Male:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Anderson:] I want to get you to Israel. We've got some news from Benjamin Netanyahu, who just has made an address to the nation on prime-time TV. I want to get to our correspondents. Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem; Sam Kiley, for all the right reasons tonight, is in the West Bank. Oren, what did we hear from the Israeli prime minister?
[Oren Liebermann, Cnn Correspondent:] Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has certainly talked about and promised annexation of the settlements in the West Bank before but never quite like this. In the past, he's talked in vague terms and general areas. Today, he put forward a specific map, saying if he wins the election, if he gets a clear mandate from the public, he'll pursue annexation of not only the settlements but also the Jordan Valley, saying it's the eastern border of Israel and that it's vital to Israel's security and for its strategic depth. But he made it clear that this was at the top, essentially, an election speech. He said, look, President Trump's peace plan is coming forward soon, perhaps even right after the election. And for that, to handle that, who would you prefer handle that? Netanyahu or his rivals? There, he said, he's the only one who can handle it. Shortly thereafter, he'll immediately pursue, if he has a clear a mandate from the public, annexation, Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, again, calling it crucial for Israel's strategic needs. He did say that he would not be annexing some of the major Palestinian areas there, such as Jericho, Nujan, some of the smaller villages there.
[Liebermann:] He tried to hedge there, pointing out that Palestinians would have access to go whichever way they wanted. But if his plan were to come to fruition, they would be going through what Israel would consider sovereign Israel. You have to believe this was in coordination with President Trump, who has been quiet throughout most of this campaign. We'll look to see either a response from Trump himself or perhaps the U.S. ambassador to Israel or others who are working on the peace plan. What's new here is that Netanyahu was specific. He put out a map, he showed the Jordan Valley, the Israeli settlements. Let's look at the context in which this happens. We're one week out from the Israeli elections. There's some polls that suggest that Netanyahu may have fallen behind his main rival and this is an attempt to kickstart the right-wing voter base. We'll see if Trump responds. That would be a major political gift to Netanyahu to try to help him win the election, which we saw before the last election in April. So we'll follow how this plays out. And, of course, how it affects the voter base here. Crucially, Netanyahu going for that rightwing voter base, saying if he gets a clear mandate from the public, he'll pursue annexation of the Jordan Valley, again, calling it crucial for Israel's security and strategic needs and other areas as well.
[Anderson:] An issue he discussed in the days in the run-up, of course, to the election four months ago, an election he won and wasn't able to build a coalition on the back of. Sam, we won't annex a single Palestinian, is what the Israeli prime minister said in his speech as he pointed to the map, which shows Jericho. Your analysis?
[Sam Kiley, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] First of all, this is a restatement of Israel's very long-standing position in terms of negotiations over a two-state solution. Previous Israeli proposals have been to have some kind of security control, as they used today call it, over this landscape below me, the Jordan Valley. This is the southern end of the north if you like. The northern edge of the Dead Sea. That city down there is Jericho. Under any Israeli plan that we've seen over the last 20 or so years, that would remain Jericho, a Palestinian territory. The Israelis have always wanted some kind of control over the rest. What Donald Trump has done, though, he is both as Oren was rightly saying, pitching, saying elect me and I'll go ahead with it. He was also stating pretty boldly that this is going to be endorsed by the Trump administration. So there's this actual threat of unilateral action to take over not only the Jordan Valley but the Jewish settlements on the West Bank, which was to be negotiated as part of the two-state solution. With every day that passes, a one-state solution or no two-state solution looks more and more likely.
[Anderson:] The breaking news this hour, the Israeli prime minister announcing plans to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank should he win the next election, which, of course, is seven days from today. Thank you, Sam. I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.