Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make his first visit to Ukraine on July 11-12, according to a report on the Ukrainian president’s official website.
“Canada and Ukraine enjoy a historic friendship forged through generations of shared values and strong relations,” Trudeau was quoted as saying in the report announcing the visit. “By working together in close partnership, Canada will help bring greater security, prosperity, and economic independence to the Ukrainian people.”
Trudeua’s tweet in Ukrainian on June 21 that he is “Looking forward impatiently” to his trip to Ukraine, quoting a tweet by Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko, who tweets “Justin Trudeau: I can confirm that I will be visiting Ukraine on my first official visit on June 11-12.”
Ahead of his trip to Ukraine, Trudeau will visit Poland to attend the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit on July 8-9. He will also pay his respects at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where 900,000 Jews, 140,000 Poles, and tens of thousands of other people were murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War.
Kyiv and Ottawa have enjoyed cooperative and friendly relations since Ukraine became independent in 1991. More than 1.3 million of Canada’s population of more than 36 million have Ukrainian heritage, making them the third largest minority group in Canada.
Since the beginning of Ukraine crisis in 2013, the Canadian government has provided Ukraine with economic, social and political support. According to Trudeau’s official website, Canada advocates “development assistance projects to promote sustainable economic growth and to advance democracy, human rights, the rule of law and support for civil society (in Ukraine).”
Canada also provides humanitarian assistance to people affected by the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, as well as cooperating with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“There are approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed to Ukraine to deliver training and capacity building programs until March 2017,” Trudeau’s official website states.
Trudeau became Canada’s prime minister on Nov. 4, 2015. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was one of the first heads of state to congratulate the new prime minister on his election.
