Turkey and Canada launch strategic partnership

Turkey and Canada officially launched a strategic partnership on Thursday, aiming to deepen cooperation in energy, defence, and trade amid rising global instability. During a two-day visit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. The pair signed agreements to enhance defence collaboration and energy relations, and agreed to increase flights to boost trade and travel between the two nations.

Turkey, facing energy price shocks from the US-Iran war, has revised its inflation targets and is seeking to secure energy and fuel imports, including from Canada. The strategic partnership extends beyond a symbolic gesture, with Turkey outlining a three-year action plan focusing on trade and investment, defence and security, energy, and people-to-people ties, according to Mr Carney.

Carney will meet with Turkish business leaders in Istanbul on Friday before initiating free-trade agreement discussions the following month. Both countries aim to increase trade from the current $3 billion to $10 billion, though no specific timeline was provided.

Former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ulgen, now leading the Edam think tank in Istanbul, emphasized that the visit underscores Turkey's role as a "middle-power" player, diversifying its foreign policy ties with Canada and other nations. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, urged Carney to address concerns about increasing authoritarianism in Turkey, such as recent arrests of activists, journalists, and opposition politicians.