Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called for the speedy establishment of a free trade area between Ukraine and Canada.
‘I hope that both negotiating teams translated our firm signal, the [Canadian] prime minister’s and mine, and that next time we see each other we will have a Ukraine-Canada free trade agreement ready to sign,’ he said at a joint session of the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Poroshenko said that the two countries should strengthen partnership in various areas, particularly in energy and trade.
He also thanked Canada for assisting the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the current situation, in particular, for bulletproof vests that save the lives of Ukrainian troops.
Moreover, Poroshenko thanked Canada for its readiness to make its contribution to NATO trust funds.
‘At the NATO Wales Summit I’ve declared my country’s desire to move closer with NATO and become the closest non-NATO ally. I hope you will support this,’ he said, addressing Canadian parliamentarians.
He also informed the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada that Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada ratified the Association Agreement with the EU on September 16.
‘It was the last ‘goodbye’ from Ukraine to the Soviet Union,’ he said, adding that Ukraine is walking the path of European integration and will not swerve from this road.
