“In 2015, Canada and Ukraine concluded negotiations of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement”, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
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(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gestures towards a live fire demonstration as he watches with his son Xavier in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian boy Mykola Nyzhnykivsky, who is rehabilitated by Canadian medical doctors, wrote a thank-you letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, site UAPOST.US has reported.
During Trudeau’s visit to Kyiv, Ukraine and Canada formally signed a free trade agreement. This was obvious Monday; about 60 Ukrainian journalists and 23 television crews turned up to record the Trudeau-Poroshenko news conference.
A key message throughout the visit will be Canada’s enduring support for Ukraine, particularly after Russian Federation seized Crimea following Yanukovych’s ouster and started supporting separatist rebels in the east of the country.
While in Kyiv, International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland signed the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) along with her Ukrainian counterpart.
Early in the trip, Trudeau announced Canada would be one of four countries leading North Atlantic Treaty Organisation battle groups in the Baltics and Poland – a direct response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, meant to dissuade it from trying to destabilize other parts of eastern Europe.
Trudeau, however, said Canada would push its allies to continue supporting Ukraine.
These signings follow the successful Canada-Ukraine Business Forum that was hosted on June 20 by Global Affairs Canada and Ukraine’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and attended by the Prime Minister and the Minister.
Some European allies have grown impatient that Ukraine is not doing enough to implement its commitments in the peace deal with the rebels and Russian Federation, with warnings they may not renew sanctions against Russian Federation.
“Many of us in the West have gone a long time without having to fight for democracy”, he said. “Coming to Ukraine was a real priority to me”, Trudeau said, lauding the trade deal as a milestone agreement that will “improve market access and create more predictable conditions for trade”. He also paid homage to Ukrainians killed in mass atrocities by the Nazis and Soviets in the 20th century, and more recently in the country’s 2014 revolution.
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He said during the two-day visit, Poroshenko will be accompanied by a delegation of government officials and businessmen, mentioning that preparations for the visit are about to finish.
