Thank you for the question, Ms. Lapointe.
I did indeed hold a round table with women entrepreneurs in Australia. We did the same thing in the different countries we visited. I think that, essentially, relationships between people are very important. During my discussions, in both Chile and Australia, I worked on developing networks. I'll give you the example of Chile. We were joined by a woman representing a group of entrepreneurs from Toronto, whose name escapes me, that had established a relationship with businesswomen in Chile. We tried to do the same thing in Australia. It's in our best interest to share experiences and knowledge, but also to establish this type of relationship with countries with which we already have important trading relationships.
You're talking about a very important matter. I'll give you an example. There's an international association that provides support to first nations when it comes to exports. The president of this association is a Canadian from Winnipeg. We met with her while we were in Winnipeg. This association's next summit will take place in South America. In a concrete way, we want to use this summit to join forces with her. I'll probably go with her to the summit. This summit will help women in aboriginal communities and first nations from different countries find business opportunities with foreign buyers. We know that major fairs of this type are held in different countries. Companies increasingly want to support women, youth or the under-represented communities in the business world. Various associations have this mandate. We want to join forces with these associations, to place them at the forefront.
My first meeting in Chile, my first as a minister, was held with UN Women, an organization based in Chile that advocates for women from first nations in the business world.
When Canada joins forces with a partner, we can focus on specific activities that shed a positive light on women in business. We try to establish networks between these businesswomen and the businesswomen at home to create growth.