Nataly
UkraineIs NGO presented its activities to extend co-operation between Ukrainian and Canadian universities and colleges including current negotiations based on the proposals from both countries. Innovative ways to promote education in Canada involve the use of marketing methods from other industries, e.g. tourism. Canada enjoys the reputation of a safe and prosperous country associated with good immigration opportunities and a welcoming multinational culture, colonial aboriginal history and great natural spaces. With Ukrainian emigration starting 125 years ago, the Ukrainian influence is woven into the fabric of Canadian society. No wonder that 2016 is the Year of Ukraine in Manitoba and Saskatchewan – more than 13 percent of Saskatchewan province, in particular, is of Ukrainian descent.
Canada offers Ukraine many opportunities for cooperation through its Canada-Ukraine Trade and Investment Support Project which has a number of activities aimed at making Canadian market information and regulatory requirements accessible in a user friendly format to Ukrainian SMEs and potential Canadian investors. The investment attraction to Canada has been appealing to the Ukrainian IT sector due to the fact that Canada gives access to North American clients (especially the US) from a much more affordable and convenient location than Silicon Valley. In particular, having an office in the province of New Brunswick enables companies to work with all of North America and Western Europe in the same business day.
On June 20-21, 2016 the first Canada-Ukraine Business Forum took place in Toronto. The event was a unique opportunity to meet key Ukrainian and Canadian political and business leaders and discuss the opportunities that would be brought by the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement which is expected to be signed in July 2016 during the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to Ukraine. The CUFTA embodies chapters in the areas of market access for goods; rules of origin and origin procedures; trade facilitation; emergency action and trade remedies; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; technical barriers to trade; government procurement; competition policy; monopolies and state enterprises; intellectual property; electronic commerce; labour; environment; trade-related cooperation;, institutional provisions and dispute settlement. The key provisions important for IT clusters are related to the electronic commerce (Canada and Ukraine will not apply customs duties and other charges to digital products transmitted electronically) and intellectual property (the IP chapter will include commitments which will facilitate cooperation to enhance the protection of IP rights and to combat IP rights infringements).
Canada is a leading bilateral donor of Ukraine – Canada`s bilateral assistance to Ukraine has reached nearly $600 million, most of which in the form of low-interest loans, but also $50 million in direct aid focused on training and empowering Ukrainians. Various private philanthropic initiatives boost the gift total by an estimated $10 million per year.
