Ottawa, Oct 18 (IANS): Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng announced that a business mission will be sent to Ukraine in 2024 for the war-torn country's economic rebuilding.

Introducing modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) legislation in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Ng said this mission will build on the foundations of the agreement to create connections between two countries' businesses and set Canadian businesses up to support the rebuilding of Ukraine, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The modernized CUFTA marks an important milestone in the Canada-Ukraine relationship, opening greater collaboration for our businesses and the ability to support Ukraine's economic rebuild while driving benefits for Canadians at home," said Ng.

On September 22, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the modernised CUFTA in Ottawa which includes new chapters and provisions on trade in services, investment, temporary entry for business persons, telecommunications, digital trade, labour and the environment, among other areas.

According to Global Affairs Canada, the original CUFTA entered into force on August 1, 2017, immediately eliminating tariffs on 86 pe rcent of Canada's merchandise exports to Ukraine.

In 2021, the value of total trade between the two countries reached its highest point ever at C$447 million and dropped to C$422 million in 2022.

After Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country’s gross domestic product dropped by almost 30 per cent in what the World Bank characterised as a “staggering contraction”.

The Kyiv School of Economics assessed direct monetary damage to material assets from February 2022 to June 2023 at $150.5 billion.

The World Bank now estimates that some $411 billion will be needed over the next 10 years to restore and reconstruct Ukraine’s economy.