Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is a very serious situation down in the Horn of Africa. One wouldn't like to play partisan politics. My colleague here was trying to smack my government for doing nothing, considering the fact that we were there for 13 years and his government didn't do anything.
As a matter of fact, this crisis in Somalia has been coming for a longer period of time; the failed state issues don't immediately just happen. There were talks going on in Nairobi all the time between warring factions to bring them back together into this transition government before they moved into Ethiopia. During the period of time when all these talks were going on in Nairobi, in trying to get all these parties to the table to come to an agreement, I'm not sure whether the previous government did issue any instructions that Canada would be there to support them. I don't know whether we were there or this government was there to push to bring all these warring factors back to the table when they were talking in Kenya.
Right now, of course, considering the situation in Nairobi, I may say, they're back in there. So this has been going on there for a very long period of time. Minus what has happened in the past, we have to look at the future, which is why I asked you about the African Union summit--you went there--and what is happening. So looking at the future, I'm as optimistic as anybody else can get about what will transpire and if this transition government will be able to maintain traction.
I'm interested in knowing from you the complicities between Puntland, Somaliland, and this area around Mogadishu. This transition government that is in Mogadishu may not have much of a say in Puntland or in Somaliland, because they are autonomous regions having their own governments. In this issue, what is your assessment, and would that whole Somaliland become one, or will they splinter into what they've splintered into right now?