Thank you.
One of the things that has struck me in doing business with Jordanian and Canadian companies is the fact that Jordanian businesses are willing to travel as well. In fact, I've been very pleased to host the vice-president of the Abdali project in Amman, which I mentioned, which is a $5 billion infrastructure project that is designed to regenerate the entire urban area of the capital.
It's very nice for Canadian businesses that are looking to begin developing their goods and services offering in the region to start with Jordan, which, as Mr. Hutton said, is a stable region. It's relatively open in terms of cultural issues. Besides that, Canadian businesses can expect a return on investment from Jordanians as well, in the sense that Jordanian business people are quite willing to also get on a plane and come to meetings in Canada. That's very useful, and it has been very useful for several organizations that are starting to do business there.
Once a Canadian firm has a foothold in the Jordanian business world, it becomes that much easier to expand in the surrounding regions. Jordan is a relatively friendly place to start your business in the Middle East.
We heard Mr. Hutton's comments in terms of the value and the volume of trade we do in the entire MENA region. Jordan is a good place to start because the staff there will facilitate it, and it is economically and socially viable.