Thank you for your testimony today.
I want to shift the focus away from India for a moment, but I want to note that the U.S. State Department has said that although there are problems with the way the government has addressed the problem of trafficking, it is making significant efforts to do so. We've heard a great deal of testimony on what's happening within the country. We've also heard a great deal of testimony that would suggest looking, and has in fact pushed us a committee to look, beyond India and examine this as a regional issue in South Asia.
I want to ask a question from the perspective of Canada, as a Canadian member of Parliament, someone who is very interested in development policy in particular. What can a middle power such as Canada do to help in the rural areas? I know that in the rural areas, the problem of trafficking is particularly acute because of the very significant levels of poverty that exist there.
Could you speak about programs that could help? I'm thinking about small loans to farmers to help them grow businesses and develop commerce and things along those lines. Micro-finance stands out as one potential example. Could you speak about that focus in general, the rural areas and what can be done?