Thank you.
I must say that I don't think anyone in this room can say more than another. This has been frustrating. It has made us angry and we've been very disappointed. All of us feel that way. However, I can advise Mr. Bachand that when we hear little voices in our ears, usually it is a symptom of believing in conspiracy.
I note, as you did, that the Prime Minister is in Afghanistan today. I think one of the most important messages that he has, that I read in any event, is that he is there to underline the evolution of our mission. I think one of the areas, in strengthening women's capacities as economic actors in particular, is through providing them with financial services.
As most of us know, the efforts led by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, when he founded the Grameen Bank, have had a tremendous impact on the poorest segments of society, especially women. The bank has significantly expanded and still provides small loans to the rural poor.
Its success has inspired similar projects in more than 40 countries around the world, and as we all know, CIDA has been one of the key players internationally in recognizing the success of the Microfinance Investment Support Facility, which has reached more than 440,000 clients in Afghanistan.
I noted that you were using the number of 220,000 women. I have the number here of 440,000 clients in Afghanistan. I understand that the MISFA has grown from five to approximately 15 microfinance institutions and is providing poor Afghans, two-thirds of them women, with access to loans and financial services that would otherwise be unavailable to them. I note the industrious nature of most women, probably, but particularly the women in Afghanistan.
I wonder if you could expand on exactly what's happening there, because I think that's some really, really good news.