ANKARA — Canada and Türkiye have upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership and agreed to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement before the end of the year, following talks in Ankara on Thursday between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, AFP reported. Carney's trip was the first bilateral visit to Türkiye by a Canadian prime minister.
Source: AFP via Turkish Minute, Oct 23, 2026
Erdoğan said the two sides hope to lift annual bilateral trade from about $3 billion — yaani about 300 crore US dollars — first to $5 billion and eventually to $10 billion, AFP reported. Reuters reported that Canadian negotiators would visit Ankara next month for the first round of trade talks, and that the two countries also plan to roughly double direct flights between them.
Source: AFP via Turkish Minute, Oct 23, 2026
After one-on-one talks and delegation meetings, the leaders watched the signing of three agreements: a defence industry partnership memorandum, an air transport agreement and a joint declaration on energy cooperation, AFP reported. The joint statement pledged expanded cooperation in energy supply, defence production, aerospace and artificial intelligence, and identified nuclear energy as a potential area of collaboration.
Source: AFP via Turkish Minute, Oct 23, 2026
"Our goal is not self-sufficiency, it is collective resilience," Carney said, according to Reuters. "And that's why Canada is building deeper partnerships with reliable partners that create new opportunities for us both. And in Turkey, we have an exceptional partner." Carney was scheduled to meet Turkish business leaders in Istanbul on Friday, with discussions expected to focus on energy, aerospace and critical minerals, AFP reported.
Source: Reuters via NewsCentral TV, Oct 23, 2026
The push comes as Canada seeks to reduce its dependence on the United States, its largest trading partner, amid an ongoing trade dispute with Washington and US tariffs on Canadian industries, AFP reported. Since taking office, Carney has pursued closer ties with countries including Saudi Arabia, India and China, and has drawn closer to Europe, AFP said.