The Government of Ukraine expresses immense gratitude to the Canadian public organizations and the Ukrainian community in Canada for the unfailing support in this tough period of transformations and reforms. Now it is the time to discover Canada again and to open a new Ukraine for Canada. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during a meeting with the representatives of the Ukrainian community and business persons in Canada. Among the participants of the meeting were the leadership of the Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, James Temerty, a distinguished Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist of Ukrainian origin as well as Ukrainian and Canadian diplomats.

The Prime Minister emphasized the current year is an anniversary year for interstate relations because these days the 125th Anniversary of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic cooperation are being marked. Interactions with the Ukrainian diaspora, according to the Prime Minister, occupy an important place in the work of the Government. Only in recent years our countries have implemented a large number of important humanitarian projects, including support for the Ukrainian army, measures to recognize and commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine and activities related to filling the practical content of the Free Trade Agreement.

"We are deeply grateful for the support of our complicated, but absolutely necessary reforms, in spite of all the difficulties of this process. We need to use our potential, to be more united around our identity, culture and eventually, the success of Ukraine. For our part, we are ready to offer Canada new projects for the implementation of announced priorities -namely, the reforms of public administration, healthcare, environment protection and energy conservation, as well as in the IT and agro sectors", stressed Volodymyr Groysman.

The Prime Minister underlined that Ukraine is changing. And today it's possible to often hear positive mentions from both entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens for the restored roads, fair pensions, the beginning of the modernization of a wide range of productions and support for the most important industries, updating logistics infrastructure, and energy reforms.

«This autumn the Parliament approved unprecedented initiatives, namely educational, pension and medical» the Head of Government noted. «We still have a lot of problems to address. But those who say that nothing changes are wrong. We have already eradicated most of the corruption schemes which were a source of enrichment of the previous regime. A period of transformations is a good signal for business and for those who are ready to invest».

Volodymyr Groysman is assured that today the world needs to take a fresh look at Ukraine not only from the point of view not only of loyalty, but also of the effectiveness of reforms. The economy is showing a gradual growth, which is forecasted by experts and the National Bank of Ukraine this year to reach at least 2%, and the next years  3-3.2%. Such growth is in line with the economic  trend of the leading European countries. However, the growth can be bigger - up to 5-6% each year already in the short term upon condition of the successful implementation of reforms and the preservation of the speed of transformation,.

In this regard, the Head of Government placed a special emphasis on the fact that Canada is one of the most principal partner countries for Ukraine. The volume of trade in goods between our countries grew by 74% from the beginning of the year, and by services - by 58%. Particular attention is paid to the participation of Canadian businessmen in the privatization of Ukrainian state assets , as well as the implementation of joint investment projects with the assistance of the Ukraine Investment Promotion Office.

In turn, the representatives of the Ukrainian community of Canada stressed that Kyiv is fully supported - primarily in the areas of social reform, privatization, and the use of the possibilities of the Free Trade Agreement. Canada can and will play a major role in the economic reconstruction of Ukraine and in the issue of reconciliation, since it has extensive experience in peacekeeping processes.

Background

Canada is home to more than 1.2 million Ukrainian-Canadians. Among them is a galaxy of prominent Canadians of Ukrainian origin: the world-famous sculptor Leo Mol, artist William Kurelek, the legendary ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, Peter Jacyk, a successful businessman and generous patron and Canada's first female astronaut Roberta Bondar. Ukrainians are also widely represented among the political elite of Canada, both at federal and local levels. Chrystia Freeland who has Ukrainian roots is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada