Foreign Affairs committee  One thing that we have started doing in a number of African countries is to try to bring together the private sector, the government and civil society to have a common dialogue and a common approach. This is also something that can be done. The governments want this because they don't, on their own, have the capacity to do that.

Foreign Affairs committee  I did, and I really want to come back to this. I think that the transition that is now under way in Ethiopia is the most important transition taking place in the world. This is a country of 105 million people, 80 different ethnic groups. If they can make it work in Ethiopia, it will send a message around the world where the issue of ethnic division is so important.

Foreign Affairs committee  Okay, but there is a hyperlink to the report in the testimony I sent to the committee. If you want me to send a separate link to the report, I'm happy to do that.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you.

Foreign Affairs committee  We once thought that social media would be a force strengthening indigenous democratic movements. Certainly these indigenous democratic movements use social media to strengthen their communications capability, their ability to get information out and their ability to network with each other.

Foreign Affairs committee  Look, when I talk about a bottom-up approach and operating at arm's length from the government, I think this needs to be understood that this type of work is complementary to the things that our government does through its official policies and through the development agencies like USAID.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think we want to keep a world order in which there is the rule of law and we have a rules-based world order in which countries can trade within a lawful system. We get into that only through promoting these values around the world and promoting movements in countries that want rules-based order in their own countries.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll come back and try to answer that.

Foreign Affairs committee  Our Center for International Private Enterprise is unique in this field because business is often seen as a dimension of development and not democracy, whereas it's absolutely critical. A lot of the countries—Egypt, Ukraine and others—that had failed transitions failed because they couldn't get the economy right.

Foreign Affairs committee  First, let me say that the idea of having other actors is not new. When the NED was established, you had the Soviet Union, which was another actor. I think what happened after the collapse of communism in 1989 through 1991 was people assumed that challenge was over. Actually, somebody called it a vacation from history.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll quickly correct one thing. The NED Act did not establish NED. The NED was incorporated as a private organization in the District of Columbia. What the NED Act did was build that firewall and also authorize the funding for the NED, but it did not establish the NED because the NED is really a non-governmental organization, which is critically important.

Foreign Affairs committee  Anthony, why don't you go first?

Foreign Affairs committee  I think it's critically important. There are different levels of independence. I should note that in his testimony, Mr. Smith noted that the board is appointed by the foreign secretary, and they approve the strategy and the budget. That's not the way it works. NED has a greater degree of independence.

Foreign Affairs committee  Canada is a parliamentary democracy, and I do think it has an important role to play in strengthening parliaments around the world. It also is a country that has played a lead role in a number of critical countries, like Iran, Ukraine and many others. I think Canada is primed to be able to help in those countries.

Foreign Affairs committee  Regarding the question of offices, first of all, let me underline that the NED is a unique institution with its four institutes. We are not a programmatic agency. We're a grant-making agency with an oversight responsibility. We don't have offices anywhere in the world. We sometimes say that if they don't like us, they can't kick us out because we're not there, but we find ways of supporting indigenous groups on the ground in all of these countries.