PM Honcharuk, Canadian ambassador discuss extension of free trade agreement

The sides discussed key issues of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Canada, according to the Government portal.

First of all, Prime Minister Honcharuk thanked Ambassador Galadza for the political support Canada provides to Ukraine, inter alia, sanctions against Russia, a pro-Ukrainian position in the United Nations and other international organizations; military cooperation (Canadian UNIFIER training mission, NATO support to Ukraine) and technical assistance (Partnership for Cities Development and Expert Deployment for Governance and Economic Growth funded by the Canadian Government; National Police Support, etc.).

Extending the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement was a key issue of the meeting. Honcharuk noted that “the most pressing issue of our bilateral relations is the extension of the FTA in the field of services and investments. According to my information, technical consultations at the expert level are completed. We now need to kick off formal negotiations on the extension. It is important that the relevant directives from the Government of Canada and the President of Ukraine are received in the coming weeks.”

The next issue discussed was visa facilitation for Ukrainians. “We are committed to shaping a dialogue that will yield real results in the process of visa waiver for Ukrainians. Last year, we were invited to join the ETA + program. We hope that in the near future we will have positive results towards the Ukrainian-Canadian visa waiver,” the head of the Ukrainian Government said.

Apart from that, the prime minister discussed with the ambassador the revision of the EDC (Export Development Canada) investment policy and the unblocking of support to the Canadian business in the framework of its investment activity in Ukraine. Honcharuk offered to identify steps that would allow EDC to review its assessment of investment opportunities in Ukraine.

The ambassador noted that the Government of Canada will pay due attention to informing EDC of all opportunities and conditions that Ukraine offers to Canadian investors.

At the end of the meeting, the parties touched upon deepening cooperation within the programs supported by the Canadian Government - EDGE and SURGe, in the areas of strategic communications, privatization and the creation of a single emergency hotline 112.

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