ANKARA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney called Türkiye an “exceptional partner” during joint statements with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday, the latest move in a warming of relations between the two NATO allies.
“We had some kind of disconnect for a period, but today we put an end to it,” Erdogan said via English translation. That remark came at the very end of the leaders’ joint statements, before announcing he would be accepting the invitation to visit Canada at some point.
Canada and Turkiye have had a few irritants over the years.
The defence relationship has been rocky, with Canada suspending arms export permits in 2020. A government report found evidence the country was using Canadian military technology, specifically sensors used on Turkish drones, in the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. That ban was lifted in 2024.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have been calling on Canada to condemn the ongoing crackdown in Türkiye on LGBTQ2S+ groups.
On Thursday, the two leaders spoke in meetings for about an hour and a half, after an elaborate welcome ceremony at the presidential palace.
Carney said next month, negotiators from both countries will meet in Ankara for the first round of free trade talks. The federal government has not yet released the results of consultations with Canadians on the possibility of a free trade deal, which wrapped up last month.
Carney and Erdogan also announced the Canada-Türkiye Strategic Partnership, which the prime minister said involves a three-year action plan, and is focused on the goals his office laid out for the trip: trade and investment, defence and security, energy and people to people ties. Carney said both countries’ foreign ministers will meet on an annual basis for a dialogue to “keep this partnership on track.”
The governments also finalized a previously announced air transport agreement, allowing weekly passenger flights between the two countries to increase from 12 to 21, with no limit on cargo-only flights.
Erdogan and Carney last met in Ankara at the NATO summit in July, where they formally launched the free trade deal talks and signed a defence framework. Carney’s trip aims to deepen ties as the government continues to try and lessen dependence on the United States.
