Ukraine and Canada have made significant progress in talks on the creation of a free trade area. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Gryshchenko and Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Lawrence Cannon discussed the issue at a meeting in Krakow (Poland) on July 3, 2010.

The first round of negotiations on this issue was held in May 2010, while the next one is scheduled for October.

At the meeting, Gryshchenko stressed the need to sign as quickly as possible an intergovernmental agreement on facilitating the travel of young people from Ukraine to Canada and vice versa.

Cannon, in turn, said that Canada consistently supported Ukrainian independence and democracy. He also said that Ottawa praised Ukraine's desire to assume the presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2013.

Gryshchenko participated in the 10th high-level meeting of the participating countries of the Community of Democracies in Poland on July 3. The meeting in Krakow was attended by delegations from over 50 countries.