Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much for your presentations and your work on this very important file.
I'm co-chair of the Canada-Japan interparliamentary group. I've had the opportunity to speak with some of the Japanese parliamentarians. They were here in Ottawa in August. There were people here such as the ambassador. They are very high on the Indo-Pacific strategy. They really are. There are other countries that are, as well. There's so much opportunity.
As part of the Indo-Pacific strategy, there's a process for trying to promote peace and security in the area. In particular, there are some joint exercises with the military. You have Russia. Japan and Canada have put sanctions on Russia, which is now running exercises in what they call the Northern Territories. You have China in the South China Sea and East China Sea. There are a lot of challenges, but we need to secure that.
In securing that, Japan has also realized the opportunities between Canada and Japan. It's just the Pacific Ocean. It's free and clear. They are very hungry right now to do more. They are the largest direct investor from Asia. You've seen Honda now exploring EV batteries again, probably in Ontario. Who knows?
I would like you to make some comments on the opportunities in the region, in particular for the businesses over here. I will suggest to you that it's very well known over there. What are we doing to promote the Indo-Pacific strategy to our businesses and collaborators—the Canadian ones—to realize the opportunities that are there?