Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, spoke with Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
Minister Ng strongly condemned President Putin's unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine and Russia's horrific attacks on innocent civilians. She reiterated Canada's commitment to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities and economy, and to stand by its people through ongoing humanitarian and financial assistance. Budget 2022 announced up to $1 billion in new loans to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund.
Minister Ng outlined how Canada continues to work with the international community to introduce a range of economic measures to hold Putin and his enablers accountable and to isolate Russia and Belarus from the global economy. This includes unprecedented economic sanctions and restrictions on sectors critical to the Russian and Belarusian economies, including transportation, defence, finance and energy.
Lastly, the ministers discussed the impact of Russia's invasion on global food security and prices. These priorities will be discussed at the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Geneva on June 12 to 15.
