Turkey and Canada launch strategic partnership

On Thursday, Turkey and Canada unveiled a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening ties in energy and defense sectors amid global instability. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to Ankara for the first official visit by a Canadian premier to the country, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two nations signed agreements on defense cooperation and energy, pledging to boost trade and travel through increased flights.

Turkey, grappling with energy price shocks from the US-Iran war, seeks energy imports, including from Canada, to secure critical raw minerals. Prime Minister Erdogan emphasized that the partnership is more than symbolic, backed by a three-year plan focusing on trade, investment, defense, security, energy, and people-to-people connections.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney will meet Turkish business leaders in Istanbul and attend free-trade agreement talks next month. Both countries aim to increase trade from $3 billion to $10 billion, with Erdogan highlighting Turkey's aspiration to become a key "middle-power" player in the "universe of middle powers." Human rights groups urged Prime Minister Carney to address concerns over increased authoritarianism in Turkey, following recent arrests of activists, journalists, and opposition politicians.