Türkiye and Canada have initiated a strategic partnership to enhance collaboration in trade, investment, defense, and diplomatic sectors amid growing global geopolitical challenges. This development was announced during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Ankara, representing a significant milestone in the relationship between the two NATO allies, which spans 83 years of diplomatic ties.
During the visit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Carney outlined a three-year action plan focusing on four main areas: trade, investment and innovation; energy and climate cooperation; defense and security; and government dialogue and people-to-people relations. This partnership aims to fortify economic connections, spur investments, and promote cooperation in energy, natural resources, and emerging technologies.
Central to this agreement is defense cooperation, marked by a memorandum of understanding between Türkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs. This agreement sets the stage for partnerships between their defense sectors and explores additional avenues for collaboration. The leaders also committed to working together to promote peace and security in regions such as the Euro-Atlantic area, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, and the Middle East, including Gaza.
The partnership will also establish an annual Türkiye-Canada Strategic Dialogue and continue the Joint Economic and Trade Committee meetings, alongside consultations on political-military and counterterrorism matters. Plans are also in place to enhance cooperation on consular affairs, migration, mutual legal assistance, and extradition between the two countries.
Both Türkiye and Canada emphasized shared values such as democracy, human rights, individual freedoms, and the rule of law. The agreement also seeks to encourage cultural exchanges and deeper connections between their citizens and diaspora communities.
The foreign ministers of both nations will oversee the implementation of this strategic roadmap to ensure that the outlined commitments yield practical outcomes, reflecting the mutual ambition to deepen economic and security ties while addressing common international challenges.