We have extraordinarily strong relations of various kinds with those major emerging countries. Take India, for example. Not only do we have a substantial population in Canada of people of Indian origin that maintains very close connections, but we also are members of the Commonwealth. That's not an organization; it's a tradition. Their way of looking at laws and order might not always look the same, but they are based on the same roots. For reasons that are difficult to gauge, we have not made enough use of those connections, but there are natural connections there.
When Canada used to be involved very actively in mediation processes, typically you would find that the Canadians and Indians were the co-chairs of various committees. We were in Cambodia. We were in Vietnam. We were around the world. There's a very strong basis there, and it's something we can build on. It's historic, and it's current. And it's very ambitious. It's very active with the populations here. So we should be able to do a lot with that.
The Brazil connection has been less well developed, but it's full of potential. One of the interesting side elements of what's happening in Haiti now is that the Brazilians are playing an increasingly active role, with Canadian encouragement. If you wanted to name a region in the world where Canada can do things the United States can't do to move forward, it is the Americas; it is our own hemisphere. They have the disadvantage of being the big guys in the hemisphere. We took our seat at the OAS precisely because we had an unusual ability to do things the Americans couldn't do and that others wanted done. There's a potentially strong partnership with Brazil and with other emerging countries.
In China, there's a very strong tradition. I don't want to get into the China question here except to say that the Prime Minister made it very clear that he intends to visit China soon. I join others who urge that it should be a comprehensive approach, probably preceded by a number of ministerial visits. It's an enormously important relationship with Canada. I think it's fair to say that China is less open to us than it might have been a couple of years ago, because it doesn't understand the initial policy that was followed by Canada. But I think that can easily be repaired.
I believe that if we are serious about it, there are a number of very strong linkages with those emerging countries. What I'm saying is that we have to build on those linkages, some of which are economic and some of which are political and diplomatic, if we want to get farther than our economic strength alone can take us.