Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman welcomed the participants of the Third Annual Ukraine Reform Conference, which takes place this year in Toronto, Canada. Addressing the participants of the meeting, the PM noted that these conferences are organized by the Government of Ukraine together with one of the partner countries and friends of our State. The first such conference took place in 2017 in London, followed by the conference in 2018 in Copenhagen. "I am happy that this year the Canadian government has supported our initiative and the conference takes place in Toronto", the Head of Government said in a welcoming speech. "We proposed the theme of the conference "The Irrevocability of Change" because Ukraine is facing a transitional period and it is more important to ensure the sustainability of the transformations that Ukraine is currently launching than during all years of independence. There is no doubt the changes that are taking place in Ukraine today should be prolonged and become irreversible. The prospect of building a strong and successful Ukraine depends on that. Despite a series of external and internal challenges, Ukraine has been steadily advancing over the past years through deep and structural reforms that have already helped to achieve macroeconomic stability and return the positive dynamics of the Ukrainian economy:

o             the gross domestic product demonstrates a sustainable growing trend for 12 quarters in a row,

o             the volume of capital investments and revenues to the budget of the country increases,

o             the national debt sees systemic reduction,

o             the largest development and modernization of infrastructure and production facilities in the history of the country is underway,

o             reform of decentralization yields results,

o             long-awaited reforms in the social sphere, in the sector of the provision of the rule of law have triggered,

o             development of the Ukrainian Army on the basis of NATO standards is underway".

Volodymyr Groysman emphasized that effective support of international partners is of paramount importance for Ukraine on this path. "Canada is the first country in the West that recognized the independence of Ukraine in 1991. Canada continues to be a close friend and strong ally of Ukraine in all its efforts to assist our country in implementation of democratic and economic reforms, restoring stability, strengthening security and to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian citizens who were affected by the conflict in the East. The strong and deep ties between Canada and Ukraine are also maintained due to a cohesive Canadian Ukrainian community comprising 1.3 million people", added the Prime Minister.