Kuleba, Garneau discuss expansion of Ukraine-Canada free trade agreement

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Marc Garneau agreed to negotiate on expanding the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada in the fields of services and investments.

As Ukrinform reports with reference to the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, this was discussed during the first phone conversation of the foreign ministers after Garneau’s appointment.

During the phone call, the ministers discussed the intensification of interaction between Ukraine and Canada in the political, security, defense, trade, investment and migration fields.

“The parties agreed to start negotiations on expanding the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada in the fields of services and investments in the near future,” the report reads.

Kuleba thanked Canada’s Operation UNIFIER for its work in Ukraine, noting this as an example of cooperation between close partners.

He informed the interlocutor about the priorities of the Crimean Platform as a site for consolidating international efforts to de-occupy Crimea and invited the Canadian side to take part in its inaugural summit this year.

The ministers welcomed the launch of a Ukraine-Canada mobility working group to strengthen person-to-person interaction. Kuleba proposed to hold its first meeting next month and confirmed the interest of the Ukrainian side in concluding a bilateral agreement on youth exchanges.

The ministers paid special attention to the issues of countering the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination of the population.

Dmytro Kuleba and Marc Garneau emphasized the importance of coordinating further actions and forming common positions in preparation for the next stage of negotiations with Iran in order to hold to account those responsible for the destruction of Flight PS752 and obtain justice for the victims of the tragedy and their families.

Minister Garneau highlighted Canada’s continued commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “We will continue to support Ukraine’s reform efforts and are committed to working together toward building a more secure and prosperous future for Ukraine,” he said.

In conclusion, the interlocutors confirmed a mutual invitation to make working visits after the normalization of the epidemic situation.

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