Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Dean, my colleague who has left just wanted me to say that she too is an economist and a musician, so she shares much in common with you.
I have a few questions, but I don't know if I want to jump into this fray. It was an interesting dialogue between the two of you, and I share that too. I'm reluctant even to go here. I don't know, maybe I'll just make a comment and say that much as we may criticize the United States, what has filled the vacuum is, at very best, no better, and I think, when I look at the implications for the future, far worse. When I see what's happening to the oil fields, how they're being exploited, and how land is being sold, and to where it's being sold, I shudder.
I would also say that as far as reasons why we should be in here are concerned, I can think of no other reason than humanitarian. There comes a point, though, that as a country you start to ask yourself, is there any solution? I hope and I pray that there is a solution, but it gets to the point where you think, what a quagmire.
That being said, I've got a couple of questions. Maybe somebody wants to make a comment on that. I just figured I had to get it off my chest, because the more I hear this, the more, quite frankly, I despair.
Mr. Dean, how is the currency established, the value of the currency? I would imagine that's done by the world just by trade. And these are my colleague's questions: Is there a willingness to share debt? Are they looking for debt relief? What steps is the government—I suppose she meant the government in south Sudan—preparing for governance?
So first of all, how's the currency established, the value of the currency?