Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Tennant, I'm so delighted that you're here. I had this very conversation with the previous minister of the previous government. Why can we not invest in a business fashion? As you say, the projects and the details of business plan and demonstrated expertise.... Your company, your involvement, has demonstrated the export of gum arabic, and it is a tremendous experience. Plus what it does is create capacity for people to be independent rather than divest.
My question would be this. Would divesting diminish their ability? Iran, North Korea, Iraq, and other countries have survived sanctions, let alone divestment.
I think my young colleagues have tremendous, great ideas. I love their ideals and their beliefs. But we have perhaps over-estimated our ability to influence some of the other countries. China or India are not going to go away, I agree with you 100%. What are the first things a family wants? It's food on the table, clothes on their backs, and they want to know that if their kid is sick they can get a doctor, and if there is education required, that they can go to school. That is not going to come, in my view, from divesting. It is going to come from investing and increasing the capacity of those people.
I would like to hear your comments on that, as to the issue of investment and divestment.