Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the establishment of a Canada-Turkiye Strategic Partnership during Carney’s two-day visit to the country. The partnership is underpinned by a comprehensive three-year action plan designed to address shared security challenges and capitalize on mutual opportunities in an increasingly unstable global environment.
The strategic framework rests on four main pillars: trade and investment, defense and security, energy cooperation, and strengthened ties between citizens of both nations. Regarding commerce, the two leaders committed to pursuing a Canada-Turkiye Free Trade Agreement and pledged to expand bilateral trade and investment in key sectors including energy supply, defense manufacturing, aerospace, and artificial intelligence. Erdogan stated that the countries aim to increase their trade volume from its current level of approximately $3 billion to $5 billion initially, with further expansion toward $10 billion.
On the defense and security front, the leaders emphasized their intention to deepen both bilateral and multilateral cooperation. They identified several regions of mutual strategic interest, including the Euro-Atlantic region, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, and the Middle East, particularly Gaza. Energy ministers from both countries will explore collaboration opportunities in areas such as liquefied natural gas, nuclear power, and critical minerals.
Carney described the partnership as part of Canada’s broader strategy to build stronger relationships with dependable partners and foster collective resilience rather than pursuing self-sufficiency. The Canadian prime minister has been working to diversify Canada’s international partnerships amid escalating trade tensions with the United States. Canadian and Turkish officials are scheduled to convene next month in Ankara to begin the first round of formal trade negotiations.
Erdogan characterized the partnership as marking a significant departure from previous years, describing it as the beginning of a new era in Canada-Turkiye relations. Carney’s visit represents the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey, though he had previously traveled to Ankara in July for the NATO summit.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI