CUCC Alberta President’s Report

Vitaliy Milentyev, President

Year 2016 has a year full of important developments and major events. The rise in interest and activities related to Canada-Ukraine trade and investments has been coming from all directions: from Ukrainian companies and authorities, from Canadian companies, Federal and Provincial Governments.

More hopes and potential future development are associated with the signing of the Canada Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA). Last year the agreement was signed by both countries and is expected to be ratified by mid-2017. As the CUFTA comes to full force, series of educational & networking events related to the Agreement are expected to be organized all across Canada.

CUCC-Alberta has been working on playing more active role in:

• Organizing trade missions jointly with Alberta’s Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and the Embassies of the two countries.
• Cooperation with CUCC-National on joint value proposition, services associated with implementation of the CUTIS Project and other initiatives aimed at promoting bi-lateral trade and investment.

Recent Activities: CUCC-Alberta

The CUCC Alberta has participated, organized solely or in partnership with other community organizations the following events last year:

• Ambassador’s Reception – April 15^th, 2016 (Edmonton, AB). Ambassador’s visit to Alberta was organized by UCC-APC. CUCC-Alberta was mandated to hold Ambassador’s reception for the businesses. The reception was in high demand from Alberta’s business and professional community. Ambassador was very kind to not only address the group with a message from the Embassy, but personally meet most guests in attendance.
• CUCC Business Forum – June 20-21, 2016 (Toronto, ON). A landmark event giving start to many political and business processes between the two countries. Vitaliy Milentyev had a privilege of attending the Forum on behalf of CUCC-Alberta and accompany Minister of Economic Development and Trade Deron Bilous as well as the City of Edmonton representatives at the Forum.
• Signing of CUFTA – July 11, 2017 (Kyiv, Ukraine). CUCC Kyiv office has organized a reception following a historic signing of CUFTA in Kyiv. CUCC-AB President was in Ukraine at the time and was kindly invited by the Kyiv office to attend the evening reception on the occasion of signing of this historic agreement. Many Ukrainian and Canadian politicians and business representatives attended the event. Alberta’s own Jars Balan and Cassian Soltykevych were part of the official Canadian delegation accompanying PM Trudeau on his trip to Ukraine.
• Oil & Gas Web-conference – October 11, 2016 (Edmonton – Kyiv). The event was organized jointly by Kyiv and Alberta offices of CUCC. Participants: Oil and Gas businesses from both sides. Companies had a chance to present their products and services and exchange questions. That laid the foundation to some direct contacts between the companies and possible future cooperation.
• Seminar & Networking Event (Building Successful Business with Ukraine) – November 8, 2016 (Edmonton, AB). Companies Centry Global (Calgary) and CMS Law (Kyiv) jointly with CUCC-Alberta have organized a seminar on some of the legal and organizational aspects of doing business in Ukraine from the perspective of a Canadian company. This was the first CUCC-AB event broadcasted on-line thanks to Oleksandr Pankieiev and his exceptional technical skills and resources.
• CUFTA Presentation for UCPBA (Calgary) – November 24, 2016. CUCC-AB President (Vitaliy Milentyev) was invited by UCPBA in Calgary to present on the CUFTA, agreement’s details and benefits. The meeting was very dynamic, filled with interesting questions and lively discussions. Good step in building closer ties with other community organizations in Alberta.

Board Activities

The Board has met regularly to keep on top of any information requests, relevant business events, government projects and other opportunities to facilitate business between Ukraine and Alberta.

One of the key events associated with the change of political climate was the ceasing of ACAUR’s (Advisory Council on Alberta Ukraine Relations) activities after its last meeting in March 2015. The most important news of 2016 is that GofA has decided to reinstate the ACAUR. Its mandate, composition and procedures however are under review.

In 2016, we made considerable progress in synchronizing messaging between Alberta, Toronto and Kyiv office. With help of Lada Kozak (Business Development Officer, CUCC National) CUCC’s branding and communication channels are undergoing a drastic makeover. All CUCC events across the locations are now being posted on CUCC Facebook page, covered in e-Newsletter and CUCC website. More work is to be done on synchronization of the service platforms and membership fees.

Respectfully yours,

Vitaliy Milentyev, President

CUCC Alberta