I appreciate very much the question. I would say a couple of things.
I would say there has been a push in the last couple of years to expand relationships with the middle powers and emerging economies of Southeast Asia, and that's a very positive thing.
Professor Ong made reference to the importance geopolitically for Canada to be developing these relationships with partners in Southeast Asia, like Singapore and Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, as part of establishing Canada as more of a player on the geopolitical scene in Asia. I think that also has implications for our relationship with the People's Republic of China. It puts us in a better position there.
When it comes to expanding trade opportunities, it's pretty clear—and we heard also from the Quebec Chamber of Commerce—that Southeast Asia is an area that has not been as well explored by Canadian enterprises over the decade, so you have a combination there of room for improvement by Canadians in getting out and exploring these markets and you have the economic trends that others and I have talked about, where you have large populations in these countries. Vietnam and the Philippines post at around 100 million each, and Indonesia is at almost 300 million. These growth rates are developing very quickly a much larger middle class.
The steps the Government of Canada has taken in the last couple of years to launch the free trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at the same time in parallel with Indonesia, at the same time as we have ratified our participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, are all things that will help to open doors and give momentum for Canadian businesses to expand their opportunities in Southeast Asia, in particular.
Just as a final point on this, the trick in all of this is that our potential partners in Southeast Asia have grown skeptical of Canada's staying power on these things, and this time we really need to make long-term investments. We need political leaders—ministers, provincial premiers, mayors and so on—to be going out and putting in the time to develop relationships through visits in the region on a sustained basis, not just once every decade or when we're running for a seat on the Security Council. Especially in Southeast Asia, decision-makers need to see that Canada is committed on a month-to-month basis, not just once in a while.