OTTAWA – The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) welcomed Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Oleksiy Pavlenko and Deputy Minister Vladyslava Rutytska during their official visit to Canada on March 26-28.
On March 26, Minister Pavlenko met with Canada’s Minister of International Trade Ed Fast, Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz, representatives of Export Development Canada, and Taras Zalusky, executive director of the UCC, in Ottawa.
Ministers Fast and Pavlenko discussed the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement.
“Canada continues to support the Ukrainian government and its people as they work to restore political and economic stability in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. We will continue our work towards concluding a Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, which was announced during my last trade mission to Kyiv in January 2015. The agreement will create new market opportunities and will further strengthen the Canada-Ukraine partnership in peace and prosperity,” Minister Fast said.
Minister Pavlenko, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, stated that he hoped the free trade agreement negotiations can be concluded by the end of the year. “From the Ukrainian side, we have a big will to move, and to sign, because it’s not only political, I think it also has a very big economic effect. And it’s not only positive for Ukrainian businesses but for Canadian businesses, as well,” Minister Pavlenko stated. (The Globe and Mail article can be found at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canadian-companies-should-feel-comfortable-investing-in-ukraine-visiting-minister/article23681158/.)
Minister Pavlenko invited Minister Fast to the international exhibit AGRO-2015, taking place in Kyiv on June 3-5.
Ministers Pavlenko and Ritz discussed further cooperation between Ukraine and Canada in the agriculture sector.
“Our two countries are actively engaged in negotiations toward concluding a free trade agreement which could benefit many sectors of both the Canadian and Ukrainian economies, most notably agriculture,” said Minister Ritz.
“The agricultural sector is one of the most important areas of the economy for both Ukraine and Canada, and one in which there is large potential for future trade and cooperation,” stated UCC Executive Director Zalusky following his meeting with Minister Pavlenko. “We look forward to working closely with him and his team on expanding and intensifying trade and cooperation in this vital sector.”
On March 27, Minister Pavlenko had meetings with Jeff Leal, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Yvan Baker, member of the Provincial Parliament (Etobicoke Center).
Minister Pavlenko together with UCC National President Paul Grod met with Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson in Mississauga, Ontario. Canada announced the official signing of the disbursement of Canada’s second $200 million low-interest loan to Ukraine.
“We stand resolutely alongside the people of Ukraine as they courageously seek peace and freedom, and we stand with our allies in calling for Russia to stand by its Minsk commitments. The measures announced today will contribute to Ukraine’s efforts to stabilize its economy, promote social stability and drive economic prosperity,” Minister Nicholson stated.
On March 27, Minister Pavlenko participated in a business roundtable hosted by the Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce and organized by John Iwaniura, the chamber’s vice-president. Later the same evening the UCC Toronto branch hosted a community forum where Minister Pavlenko and Deputy Minister Rutytska addressed the broader Ukrainian Canadian community at the Golden Lion restaurant in Toronto.
On March 28, Minister Pavlenko toured the Vineland Research and Innovation Center and Creekside Estate Winery.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian Canadian community, I congratulate Minister Pavlenko and Canadian government officials on a very successful visit to Canada,” stated UCC President Grod. “The agriculture sector represents some 30 percent of the Ukrainian economy, and it is crucial that Canada and Ukraine continue to explore areas for mutual cooperation and enhance commercial relations.”
Mr. Gord added, “What is most impressive is that Minister Pavlenko and Deputy Minister Rutytska represent the new generation of political leadership in Ukraine. Armed with business degrees these former chief executives have left the private sector to help rebuild Ukraine’s economy and to rid it of the corruption that has plagued the country for the past two decades.”