Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Turkey to meet President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. This is the first bilateral visit by a Canadian leader, aimed at expanding trade and reducing reliance on the United States. Carney and Erdogan are expected to sign a declaration to enhance cooperation in areas like defense and energy, and the relationship between the two countries is set to be upgraded to a “strategic partnership.”
Carney’s visit is part of a global trade effort to shield Canada from escalating trade tensions with the US, where President Donald Trump has imposed heavy tariffs. Upon arriving in Ankara early in the morning, Carney is scheduled to meet Erdogan around noon local time. Turkey is looking for new investments in its defense industry, new nuclear plants, and mining.
Carney’s office highlighted the goal of the visit as positioning Canada as an important trade and investment partner, and he plans to engage with key Turkish business leaders. Although trade numbers between Canada and Turkey are relatively low, with Turkey accounting for less than 0.3% of Canada’s total trade, there has been a nearly 50% increase in trade over the last five years.
In the previous year, Canada signed over 20 trade agreements, aiming to double non-US exports within a decade. Despite concerns over China, Carney views it as a more reliable trading partner than the US, although nearly 70% of Canadian exports still go to the US. Carney’s approach to human rights in Turkey is more focused on economic opportunities than on social issues, indicating a delicate balance he must maintain during the visit. In July, Carney and Erdogan began negotiations for a free-trade agreement and Turkey joined Canada’s Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank.
With information from Reuters
