Ivano-Frankivsk – Alberta Relations PROFILE Alberta has strong ethnic and cultural The City of Ivano-Frankivsk is Area: 13,900 km2 (2.3% of Ukrainian ties to Ukraine, particularly in the twinned with 22 other cities, mostly territory) western Oblasts, with over 10% of in Poland (11 cities) and in other Capital: Ivano-Frankivsk City (pop. Albertans (332,000) claiming countries of Eastern Europe. 226,124, 2013 est.) Ukrainian ancestry. ECONOMY Population: 1,381,000 (2012 est.) Alberta has had a long history of About 1/3 of Ivano-Frankivsk’s Language: Ukrainian involvement with Ukraine and has contributed to building social, political population work in the agricultural Government: Appointed Regional and economic reform in Ukraine. industry in areas such as fruit and Administration and elected Regional Council vegetable growing, sugar – (Rada) OBLAST OVERVIEW refineries, milk processing and meat-packing. Head of Oblast (Appointed): Ivano-Frankivsk is known for its rich Governor Mykhailo Vyshyvaniuk cultural tradition, with long-standing Entrepreneurship has been Head of Rada (Elected): Oleksandr Sych contacts with Polish, Austrian, and developing considerably as Currency: Hryvnia (UAH), Russian cultures. increasing market-based infrastructure is being put in place. CAD$1 = 7.93 UAH, 10 UAH = CAD$1.27 In the early 1990s, the city was a (July 2013) strong centre of the Ukrainian In 2009, the volume of industrial Key Industry Sectors: agriculture and independence movement. production declined by 22.6% as a result of the country’s economic forestry, electric power industry, fuel, In 2006, the City of Ivano-Frankivsk crisis. More than 50% of the chemical and petrochemical, machine- celebrated its 150th anniversary. building and metal-working, woodworking, companies in the Oblast are light and food branches The City of Ivano-Frankivsk is a profitable. major railway junction connecting Goods imported into the oblast RELATIONSHIP OVERVIEW Chernivtsi, St. Petersburg, Sophia, include: oil and oil refining Kyiv, and Moscow. In 2004, Alberta and Ivano-Frankivsk products, boilers, fur, organic The Carpathian Mountains, one of the signed a 5 year twinning agreement, to chemical compounds, and plastics. largest mountain ranges in Europe, explore opportunities to cooperate in The region’s main exports are: oil occupy almost a half of the Oblast. numerous areas, including culture, and gas equipment and education, economic development and The Oblast is a member of the instruments, measurement governance. international organization instrumentation, mazut, ethylene, “Carpathian Euroregion”, which vinyl chloride, dyes, cement, sulfur, The cooperation between the Province includes the cross-border fur, timber, wood particle and wood of Alberta and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast administrative areas of Poland, fiber board, carpet and floor was reaffirmed in 2010 as the twinning Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and covering, clothing. agreement was renewed. Ukraine. Input was provided from the departments of: Advanced Education & Technology, Agriculture & Rural Development, Education and Energy July, 2013 FOREIGN TRADE Regional foreign trade has been FORESTRY EDUCATION steadily increasing. Among the More than half of the region is In 2009, the region had 30 post- principal foreign partners are covered in forests, and constitutes secondary institutions, being Hungary, Poland, Romania, 10% of Ukrainian forested land. attended by over 53,000 students. Turkey, Germany, Belarus, the Ivano-Frankivsk is Ukraine’s leading The Ivano-Frankivsk State Medical Russian Federation, Turkmenistan producer of wood particle boards and Academy is one of the oldest and and Latvia. wood fibre boards. most important medical institutions In 2011, an estimated total in Ukraine The Academy has a amount of foreign direct license for training foreign students. investment (FDI) into Ivano- EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES Frankivsk was US$512.5 million, The Ivano-Frankivsk Technical including construction and mergers Tourism Institute of Oil and Gas is the only and acquisitions. Tourism has potential to be a leading multi-purpose educational and The main sources of FDI are contributor to Ivano-Frankivsk’s scientific research establishment of countries of the Netherlands, economy. its type in Ukraine, where students Cyprus, and Italy, mostly in Ivano-Frankivsk is known to be one are trained in the following chemicals and plastics, agriculture, of Ukraine’s most picturesque industries: oil and gas, transport, and agri-food. Oblasts, attracting an increasing electricity and energy supply. number of tourists. Ecotourism and ENERGY the rural hospitality sector (farm RECENT VISITS The energy and petrochemical owners offering room and board) are June 2010: The Governor of Ivano- industries have been developing growing. Frankivsk, Mr. Mykhaylo dynamically. Vyshyvanyuk, visited Alberta to Telecommunications The oblast accounts for about 15% attend the Canada-Ukraine Business of the total oil extraction in the To increase the quality and efficiency Forum. Ukraine. of services, state-of-the-art communications systems based on DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION Associated petrochemical and fibre-optics and digital technologies machinery industries have been are being developed and subscriber The Ukrainian Ambassador to developing rapidly. networks revived. Canada is Mr. Vadym Prystaiko. In 2010, the region produced Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine is around 2.5 K bbl/d or appx. 5 per Technology Mr. Troy Lulashnyk. cent of the total and 314 million Ivano-Frankivsk is attempting to Ukraine’s Consuls in Toronto, with cubic meters (64 billion cubic feet) introduce policies that preserve and jurisdiction over Alberta, are of gas or appx. 2 per cent of the develop regional scientific and Mr. Anatoliy Oliinyk and Mr. Anton total technological potential, and help Rybak. implement these results into MINERALS industry. The region is rich in minerals. 160 Better technology is needed for oil deposits of 24 different minerals and gas drilling, transportation and types are found: storage. o fuel-energy (oil, gas, lignite, peat); CULTURE o chemical (rock salt, potassium salt, sulfur, In September 2006, the Government phosphorites); of Alberta signed a Genealogy Agreement with Lviv (central o building materials (gypsum, marl, marble, sandstone, repository for all of Western clay); Ukraine), establishing genealogical research offices in Lviv and o balneal (ozokerite, mineral waters). Edmonton which will provide a link between archival records in Alberta The Carpathians contain small and Western Ukraine ($200,000 over deposits of iron ore, copper, zinc, 3 years donated by the GOA). silver and gold. Renewed funding in 2010 has allowed this project, which contributes to family history research and the reunification of families from Alberta and Western Ukraine, to continue. For more information, contact: Alberta Intergovernmental, International and Aboriginal Relations Tel: 780-427-6543 Fax: 780-427-0699 www.albertacanada.com .