I will try to be very brief.
The western Balkans are part of the transatlantic area. They should not remain a grey zone in this part of the world. It's very important that countries like Canada, with rich traditions of democracy and democratically controlled armed forces, get involved in reforming the security structures in the region and supporting them.
As I mentioned in my brief statement, defence is a very crucial sector in which the Canadian private sector, armed forces and government can get involved in assisting countries—especially Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. Canada can play a crucial role in supporting them in achieving the reforms they need to get aligned with NATO standards. In this regard, having a Canadian presence in this part of the world is very important. It will help these countries achieve their benchmarks. Most of them are part of NATO. In the case of Kosovo—which is still not part of NATO—this will help it to at least achieve those standards for when the political conditions are created in which it can become a member of NATO without any hurdle.