Ukraine and Canada strengthen political dialogue with implementation of FTA as a topmost priority in bilateral relations - a meeting between Heads of Government

Ukraine and Canada have strategic partnership based on enduring friendship, strong political dialogue, commitment to democratic values and prospects of joint implementation of projects in the most promising sectors of the real economy today. For this very reason, Ukraine is counting on the enhancement of the political dialogue and the expansion of the Free Trade Agreement. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman made this statement in the course of the meeting with Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. The negotiations became one of the key events of the visit to Canada.

«We have strategic partnership. The Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement came into force and we have unified approach towards most political issues», underlined Volodymyr Groysman.

«Our meeting is another opportunity to discuss vital issues of our relationship, and I am glad to welcome, my colleague, Volodymyr Groysman. Canada will always stand by Ukraine whether its political or economic questions», Justin Trudeau noted.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine emphasized that the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with Canada both at the geopolitical level and in the trade and economic sphere is a top priority. Confirmation of that fact is the intensified dialogue at the level of the leadership of the two countries as well as the deepening of business contacts due to the Free Trade Agreement.

Volodymyr Groysman is convinced that statistics prove the correctness of the chosen vectors. In the first half of 2017, the volume of trade in goods and services increased by 58% and amounted to 245 million dollars. Potential for further growth is significant: within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement, Canada abolished 98% of tariffs and restrictions, Ukraine has do the same to the tune of 72% and for 7 years will bring this figure to 99%. At the same time, the sides already provide mutual access to public procurement, equalize environmental requirements, standards of work, protection of intellectual property rights. He drew attention to the fact that the next issue on agenda is an expansion the FTA in services and investment sectors.

«We highly appreciate the existing projects. Among them are those that we are very proud of. I will announce only a few flagships - the National Police of Ukraine, Centres for Legal Aid Provision, The Canada-Ukraine Trade and Investment Support (CUTIS), The Expert Deployment for Governance and Economic Growth (EDGE) Project and Partnership for Local Economic Development and Democratic Governance Project (PLEDDG)», the Prime Minister stated.

The cooperation in the international political arena is efficient as well. The issues at stake are countering the Russian aggression and introducing sanctions policy.

Heads of Government discussed priorities pertaining to Canada's G7 presidency in 2018. It was agreed that during the forthcoming G7 summit in June 2018, the Ukrainian issue will be considered both in the context of strengthening security and peace as well as in the coordination of international support for the implementation of reforms.

The interlocutors also discussed the situation in eastern Ukraine and the possibilities for the deployment of a peacekeeping operation under the auspices of the United Nations in Donbas.

Background

The Prime Minister of Ukraine is on a visit to Canada this week. He has already held talks and meetings with the leadership of the Canadian Parliament, leaders of the Ukrainian community, took part in the international Toronto Global Forum and in the Ukrainian-Canadian Business Forum. The Head of Government stressed that the purpose of the visit was to discover Canada and open a new Ukraine for Canada, first of all, given investment opportunities and ambitious structural changes. The key message of meetings of Volodymyr Groysman with business persons was the following: «It's time to take a fresh look at Ukraine». The issues of the global transformations of the country, the policy directions of the Ukrainian government, as well as those trends that are already laid today in the process of making decisions in the social, economic and political spheres were touched upon during negotiations with the leadership of Canada.