Thank you. That's a great question.
There was a great report put out a few years ago by Crestview—it was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—called “Opportunity 2050”. It said:
Over the next 30 years, aid, good governance, trade, and employment-generating industries could add over $15 trillion to sub-Saharan Africa's GDP. This in turn, [could generate over 400,000 jobs and] could add up to $2.7 trillion to the Canadian economy during the same time period.
The first thing I would say is be engaged. We are turning away. We are running down things. We need to re-up our commitment there in all of the areas that we've talked about—defence, diplomacy, trade and development.
Do remember that development really does underpin this. My colleagues have talked about how so much money flows through the UN and other organizations. I remember the days of going to Africa and seeing Canadian flags flying over projects that were run by very small to medium-sized organizations.
I would say be engaged. I would say it is a wider African context, but it's a regional context within Africa. You can't see Africa as just one place. The Sahel is very different from sub-Saharan Africa, which is very different from northern Africa, which is very different from southern Africa. We need to have a regional context.
Overall, our engagement needs to take a much higher level. It needs to be really seen as a way that would benefit Canada as well as Africa.