India has deep commercial and diplomatic links with the Maldives.
Before the Syrian uprising began, a similar development was taking place in Aleppo, another Fertile Crescent city that enjoyed deep commercial ties with Turkey under the Ottoman Empire.
The plan for Whole Foods, as it happens, is to grow to 300 stores by 2010, and to make deep commercial inroads on Canada and the United Kingdom.
France also has deep commercial ties with Iran through companies that include Renault and Total, and the sharper tone of President Nicolas Sarkozy toward Tehran has put them in an awkward position.
Because of those doubts, Russia and China, which have deep commercial ties to Iran, have dragged their feet over a new sanctions resolution and agreed only recently to a watered-down set of sanctions to be brought before the Council.
But with the doubts now that Iran is actively pursuing a weapon, Russia and China — which have deep commercial and oil ties to Iran — have balked, agreeing only to a greatly watered-down set of sanctions that has yet to go to the Security Council for a vote.
"I would say the big pivot for the company now is to actually engage in deep commercial discussions with governments and customers around the world, about the projects that they've been imagining that they could solve with Hyperloop technology," Lloyd explained.
Australia, which has deep commercial and political ties with Indonesia, failed to halt the country's execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, who were killed Tuesday by a firing squad on drug smuggling charges.
Deep-sea commercial fishing is based there, and Manta has a tuna cannery.
