First of all, in terms of the displacement crisis, it is important to know in the context of Somalia that 30% of the population is displaced, be it internally displaced or as refugees in the subregion. For any country that is in crisis, that's a substantial number of the population.
Second, the region surrounding Somalia, together with the international community, has been leading efforts to stabilize Somalia over the last many years. Now we have a federal government that is recognized by the international community and speaks for the Somali people, but it is not in full control of the territory of the country because substantial territory is still in the hands of terrorist groups.
The countries neighbouring Somalia have provided troops. The troops are inside Somalia providing stability and training Somali's security forces in order to allow the Somali government and its institutions to be ready and prepared to take up the responsibility of governing the country.
All of that, as you realize, requires substantial support. I am of the view that if we invest in institution-building in Somalia, we will be able to address the challenges that the Somali people continue to face, be it in terms of those who are internally displaced or in terms of allowing the voluntary return of the population in exile, because every other country can only do that building through its nationals, by its citizens. The Somali people need to be given the opportunity to grow and to reconstruct their country.
I am pleading here for Canadian support for the Somali government and the institutions of Somalia so that they can grow and become strong to take care of their citizens.