Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived on a working visit to Ukraine on Saturday, June 06,2015.
PHOTO:MFA UA
President Petro Poroshenko emphasized that his negotiations with Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper had reaffirmed powerful and efficient support of Canada for Ukraine.
Press office of President reports that President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper who is on a working visit to Ukraine on the eve of the G7 Summit in Germany. The President has noted after the meeting:
“It is very important for the leaders of the whole civilized world to keep on holding the line in countering the attempts to destroy the foundation of international security”.
Prime Minister Harper emphasized that the position of Canada regarding Ukraine remained clear.
“Canada will never recognize illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory by Russian forces. We will never agree to the fact that the borders of a sovereign country can be altered by force. We urge Mr. Putin to stop his invasion in the Eastern Ukraine, withdraw his troops, tanks and heavy weaponry and stop providing military assistance to separatists,” the Prime Minister of Canada said.
During the meeting the parties discussed the deepening of Ukrainian-Canadian cooperation in the military field. The Head of State noted the initiative of Mr. Harper to involve Canadian instructors in training Ukrainian soldiers. It will strengthen the defense potential of Ukraine and generate martial fraternity, as stated by Petro Poroshenko.
The President also mentioned the Canadian decision to allocate technical assistance and send experts for training the law enforcers of Ukraine.
“Successful reform of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine is an important step towards the European Union, and I thank the Prime Minister for his attention to these extremely important issues,” Petro Poroshenko said.
One of the key issues of negotiations was the issue of deepening bilateral trade and investment. The parties agreed to accelerate the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine.
“I am confident that we have nothing to wait for. I am confident that this agreement should be signed. And at the next meeting of our group, we have every chance to sign the given agreement. We need to remove any trade restrictions between Canada and Ukraine – reliable partners not only politically, but also economically,” the President noted.
