Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have announced the launch of a Canada-Turkiye Strategic Partnership, backed by a three-year action plan.
“In an increasingly complex global security environment, rising geopolitical uncertainties, and evolving humanitarian challenges, a strong and resilient Canada-Turkiye partnership is essential, providing a foundation to mitigate shared threats and capitalise on new opportunities,” said a statement by the two leaders on Thursday.
This comes as Carney is on a two-day visit to Turkiye, seeking to forge a new partnership as Canada looks to reduce its dependence on the United States.
The partnership’s three-year action plan rests on four pillars: trade and investment; defence and security; energy; and ties between people, the statement said.
On trade, investment and innovation, the two leaders agreed to “work toward successful conclusion of a Canada-Turkiye Free Trade Agreement”, it said. They will also expand bilateral trade and investments in priority sectors, including energy supply, defence production, aerospace, and artificial intelligence (AI).
On defence and security, the leaders “underlined their intent to deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation”. They also agreed to “strengthen cooperation in support of peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic region and beyond including Ukraine, South Caucasus, and the Middle East, in particular Gaza”.
Meanwhile, energy ministers from both countries will work on areas such as liquefied natural gas, nuclear energy and critical minerals.
‘Launching a new era’
Speaking to reporters in Ankara alongside Carney on Thursday, Erdogan said the two countries “hope to increase our trade volume, which currently stands at around $3bn, to $5bn initially and then to $10bn through the steps we will take”.
He said the two sides had agreed to begin free trade agreement negotiations before the end of the year to boost trade and investment, adding that elevating Turkiye-Canada relations to the level of a strategic partnership would not be merely a symbolic step on paper.
Canadian and Turkish leaders will convene next month in Ankara for the first round of trade talks, the joint statement said.
“We have today overcome the disconnect that had persisted between Turkiye and Canada for many years. Now, we are launching a new era between Turkiye and Canada,” Erdogan said.
Relations between the two countries will expand “for generations to come”, Carney said alongside Erdogan.
“Our goal is not self-sufficiency; it is collective resilience, and that’s why Canada is building deeper partnerships with reliable partners that create new opportunities for us both, and in Turkiye, we have an exceptional partner,” he added.
Carney is on the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkiye, although he travelled to Ankara in July to attend the NATO summit.
He was scheduled to meet Erdogan and other officials before travelling to Istanbul for talks with Turkish business groups as the two countries seek to deepen trade ties.
The Canadian prime minister has sought to diversify partnerships and reduce reliance on the US amid an escalating trade war with US President Donald Trump, marked by US tariffs on Canadian goods, followed by retaliatory measures from Canada, as well as Trump’s statements questioning Canadian sovereignty.
