KIEV, March 14 (Sputnik) — Ukrainian and Canadian specialists have been working on the agreement for a long time, the Ukrainian president added.
"Today is the important day in the relations between Ukraine and Canada. It is the day of the ratification of the free trade agreement," Poroshenko was quoted as saying by his press service.
"This is the historic moment in our bilateral trade with Canada," Poroshenko stressed.
According to the Ukrainian president, the agreement will allow for the creation of new job opportunities in construction, industrial manufacturing and trade, and will also provide duty-free access for 98 percent of Ukrainian commodity items to the Canadian market.
"Ukrainian businesses will gain access to the North American market. It means both the increase of the Ukrainian export and the raise in the direct investments to Ukraine amounting to $36 million," Poroshenko added.
The negotiations on the establishment of the free trade zone between Canada and Ukraine have intensified since 2014. Signed in July 2016, CUFTA stipulates the strengthening of the economic and trade relations between the countries mainly in terms of the industrial and agricultural products trade, intellectual rights protection, and public procurement.
