Canada and Ukraine clinch free trade deal: report

14 Jul, 2015

OTTAWA: Canada and Ukraine reached a free trade agreement that will be formally announced Tuesday during Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's visit to Ottawa, Canadian media reported.

With more than a million inhabitants claiming roots in Ukraine, Canada has made multiple supportive moves with Kiev since the 2014 revolution and Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

Trade between the two countries reached some $244 million in 2014.

Ottawa and Kiev re-launched discussions about a free trade deal early last year, after Yatsenyuk came to power. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported the conclusion of the soon to be announced free trade deal.

The Ukrainian economy has taken a nosedive after three years of recession and more than a year of civil war.

Its national debt is expected to reach nearly 94 percent of GDP this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015

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