First visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey, Carney’s agenda unveiled

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Ankara and Istanbul from 21 to 23 October. This will be the first bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian leader.

The visit would mark Carney’s latest break with Canadian diplomatic convention, as he seeks to reduce his country’s dependence on the United States, following a breakdown in trade talks in August.

Carney will meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and will work toward strengthening bilateral relations in areas such as energy and mining, climate, defence and security.

He will meet Turkish business leaders and investors in Istanbul and will promote Canada as an attractive destination for trade and investment.

“The prime minister will emphasise the opportunities to expand that growing trade relationship in priority sectors, including energy, aerospace, advanced technologies, mining and critical minerals”, Carney’s office said.

Carney has pledged to double Canada’s trade with non-U.S. countries over the next decade and has rushed to forge ties with a host of countries, including China and India, with which it has had tensions in the past.

Carney and Erdogan officially launched negotiations on a free trade agreement at the NATO leaders’ summit in July. Turkey has agreed to join Canada’s Defence, Security and Resilience Bank as one of the 10 founding member countries of Carney’s multilateral “middle powers” bank.