International Trade committee  I believe the U.K. is progressing in this respect, and Canada could follow suit with various states at a bilateral level in that respect to advance respective interests. Our provinces also have interests internationally, and they pursue agreements as well as different types of partnership arrangements, in addition to having boots on the ground that complement federal boots on the ground in different international markets.

International Trade committee  I think it's a good point, and there are a couple of areas I want to touch on. When it comes to trade and economic partnership models and design.... Look at what the key drivers and key areas of interest are when it comes to advancing commercial and investment ties. You can create governance models as part of the partnership design.

International Trade committee  I think EDC is a great tool that we need to continue to leverage, especially when it comes to buyer financing models, but I think what fundamentally we're seeing in the global marketplace from a Canadian commercial perspective is that early-stage export financing is a major problem.

International Trade committee  In the Middle East, I think Canada has congruence with a lot of capabilities and requirements that are in the Middle Eastern market. You can start with professional services, from infrastructure development, capital projects, education, health care, technology to energy renewables.

International Trade committee  Absolutely. I think you have markets that pose various challenges for doing business and also corporate social responsibility practices that are being adopted in certain marketplaces. Certainly, there are challenges in that respect. What I think is important to note is that there's a lack of awareness of these opportunities in the Canadian marketplace for Canadian firms.

International Trade committee  Yes, on that point, to highlight, I am not a trade policy negotiator, but in my experience, I would say there are a few areas. One is that, if you were to look at a comprehensive trade and economic partnership arrangement, I think it really depends on the type of partnership and the government's model in the mechanism.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members, for this opportunity. My name is Omar Allam. I am here today as an individual with 20 years of international business, public sector, diplomatic, World Bank and global trade consulting experience that spans the North American, European, African and Asian markets, in addition to having worked in emerging markets such as China, India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to name just a few.