New Ukrainian Ambassador Meets with Canadian MPs

Ottawa - On January 28, 2013, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, Vadym Prystaiko, held a joint meeting with Robert Sopuck, Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group and its constituent Members of Parliament James Bezan, Ted Opitz, Ed Komarnicki and Stella Ambler.

They had a sincere exchange of thoughts over a broad range of issues, starting from social and economic issues as well as political developments in Ukraine and its foreign policy priorities, and going on to perspectives and future prospects of Ukraine-Canada bilateral relations.

Ambassador Prystaiko was highly appreciative of Canada’s practical assistance to Ukraine through the programs of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) that are aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses, and reforming public sector activities and judicial decision making processes and power, local governance etc. While discussing the democratic development of Ukraine, the Ambassador called upon the Members of Parliament to advocate for the beginning of interaction between Ukrainian and Canadian experts with the purpose of improving the Ukrainian electoral process.

The participants all agreed that trade between Ukraine and Canada, which now stands at around three hundred million dollars, is not in line with the potential amount of trade between the economies of the two countries. It was expressed with confidence that the future Ukraine-Canada Free Trade Agreement will promote Ukrainian and Canadian businesses.

Ambassador Prystaiko also raised the issue of liberalizing the visa regime between the two countries, having expressed the hope for reciprocal steps from Canada in response to the unilateral elimination of Ukrainian visas for Canadians back in 2005.

The Ambassador and the Members of Parliament greeted the recent meeting of the Ukrainian and Canadian Ministers of Foreign Affairs within the framework of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ambassador Prystaiko informed the members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group about the main priorities of the Ukrainian chairmanship of the OSCE in 2013. He also expressed readiness to actively promote building contacts between Ukrainian and Canadian Members of Parliaments.

PHOTO

L. to R.: Ed Komarnicki, Ted Opitz, Stella Ambler, Ukrainian Ambassador in Canada Vadym Prystaiko, James Bezan and Robert Sopuck, Chair of Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group