President Erdoğan: We are elevating our relations with Canada to a strategic partnership

The first prime-level visit from Canada to Türkiye took place today. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with an official ceremony.

Then, negotiations between the delegations started. While three agreements were signed between Türkiye and Canada, the leaders later held a joint press conference.

In his speech, President Erdoğan announced that they started a new era between Türkiye and Canada.

Stating that they took a historic step towards the future of relations between the two countries with Canadian Prime Minister Carney, Erdoğan emphasized that there will be cooperation in many areas such as energy, trade and defense industry in the coming period.

Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:

"I am very pleased to host Canadian Prime Minister Carney. We evaluated our bilateral relations in detail during our meetings.

With our strategic partnership decision with Canada, we will cooperate in many areas such as energy, trade and defense industry in the coming period. We aim to implement new projects in these areas.

We signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada in the field of defense.

We will double the number of direct flights.

First of all, we decided to start Free Trade Agreement negotiations before the end of the year in order to increase trade and investments. We aim to increase our trade volume, which is currently at 3 billion dollars, first to 5 billion and then to 10 billion dollars.

We are of the same opinion that diplomatic methods should pave the way for peace in Ukraine and the Gulf. We see Canada's sanctions against invasive settlements in Gaza as accurate in deterring the Israeli government's violations.

We took a historic step towards the future of our relations with Carney. We are elevating our relations with Canada to a strategic partnership. Raising our relations to the level of strategic partnership will not be a symbolic step that remains on paper.

Today, we have resolved the long-standing Türkiye-Canada disconnection. "Now we are starting a new era between Türkiye and Canada."

CARNEY: Türkiye IS A VERY EXCEPTIONAL PARTNER

Carney stated that Türkiye is a very exceptional partner and said, "Canada seeks to establish deep partnerships with reliable partners. Our security cooperation is deeper."

Carney said, "Turkey has NATO's second largest armed forces and one of the most innovative and rapidly developing defense industries. Turkey plays a very important role in resolving complex conflicts in different parts of the world."

Carney emphasized that this partnership will continue to develop for generations to come.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN WELCOME WITH AN OFFICIAL CEREMONY

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who visited Türkiye, with an official ceremony.

The cavalrymen welcomed Carney's official vehicle on the street in front of the Presidential Complex and escorted the vehicle to the protocol gate.

President Erdoğan welcomed Carney at the main entrance of the Complex. After Erdoğan and Carney took their places in the ceremony area, the band played the national anthems of the two countries.

At the ceremony, flags and soldiers representing 16 Turkish states in history were featured, and 21 artillery pieces were fired.

Carney greeted the Guard Regiment's Ceremonial Guard by saying "Hello, soldier." The two leaders presented their delegations to each other.

President Erdoğan and Carney shook hands and posed for the press in front of the Turkish and Canadian flags on the stairs.

Erdoğan and Carney, who had a one-on-one and inter-delegation meeting, will attend a joint press conference after the meetings.

At the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, MİT President İbrahim Kalın, President of Defense Industries Haluk Görgün, Presidential Private Secretary Hasan Doğan, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, Presidential Foreign Policy and Security Chief Advisor Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Türkiye's Ambassador to Ottawa Can Dizdar and Ankara Governor Yakup. Canbolat also took part.

During the contacts, it is aimed to discuss many issues from trade to defense industry, from energy to mutual investments, as well as political and diplomatic issues.

Carney and his accompanying delegation are expected to meet with representatives of the Turkish business world and discuss the main issues as well as priority sector opportunities such as aviation, advanced technologies and critical minerals.

FTA NEGOTIATIONS ACCELERATED AFTER THE NATO SUMMIT

The recently developing relations between the two countries gained a new dimension with the messages given at NATO's Ankara Summit in July.

As a result of the meetings held within the scope of the summit, a joint statement was published regarding the start of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Türkiye and Canada. The technical teams of the two countries have worked intensively since the summit to determine the scope and objectives of the agreement.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu also met in June to advance the economic partnership between the two countries.

During the meeting, the energy sector was evaluated as a "promising area" for further development of cooperation. The possibility of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy was also discussed. These contacts are expected to take the trade of the two countries to a new dimension.

FOREIGN TRADE VOLUME OF THE TWO COUNTRIES APPROACHED 2 BILLION DOLLARS IN 8 MONTHS

Türkiye's exports to Canada last year were 1 billion 577 million 350 thousand dollars, and its imports from this country were 1 billion 162 million 825 thousand dollars.

Thus, last year the foreign trade volume between the two countries amounted to 2 billion 740 million 175 thousand dollars.

When exports were examined according to sections, boilers, machines, mechanical devices and tools ranked first with 158 million 781 thousand dollars in 2025. This chapter was followed by iron and steel with 104 million 436 thousand dollars, and iron or steel goods with 97 million 46 thousand dollars.

In the 8 months of this year, Türkiye's exports were 1 billion 23 million 98 thousand dollars and its imports were 954 million 812 thousand dollars. Thus, Türkiye-Canada foreign trade volume approached 2 billion dollars in 8 months.

In the January-August period, boilers, machines, mechanical devices and tools ranked first with 96 million 62 thousand dollars. This was followed by aluminum and aluminum goods with 73 million 841 thousand dollars, and edible fruits and nuts with 49 million 520 thousand dollars.

Especially if the FTA is signed, it is aimed to increase the trade volume to 7-8 billion dollars in the short term and to 10 billion dollars in the future with new collaborations.

MORE THAN 209 THOUSAND TOURISTS CAME IN THE 8 MONTHS OF THE YEAR

The number of visitors coming to Türkiye from Canada in 2025 was recorded as 321 thousand 271, an increase of 6.1 percent compared to the previous year. The number of tourists was 302 thousand 728 in 2024. In the January-August period of this year, the number of tourists from Canada increased by 2.9 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 209 thousand 176.

On the other hand, according to Statistics Canada data, Canada's direct investment stock in Türkiye is at the level of 3.3 billion Canadian dollars as of 2025. On the other hand, Türkiye's direct investment stock in Canada is 233 million Canadian dollars.