Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Turkey Thursday for a two-day visit-his first bilateral trip following July's NATO summit-seeking a strategic partnership and free-trade negotiations to reduce US dependence amid a trade war with Donald Trump.
Carney will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara before conferring with business groups in Istanbul. Discussions focus on energy, nuclear plants, sustainable mining, defense, aerospace, advanced tech, and critical minerals-sectors driving 50% trade growth over five years.
Canada's Ambassador Marcel Lebleu told media the visit aims to launch a strategic partnership via a joint declaration. Improving ties follow Canada lifting its 2024 arms export ban, previously imposed over Turkish incursions in Syria and military support for Azerbaijan. Turkey also seeks a second Black Sea nuclear plant beside Russia's Rusatom project.
Concurrently, Amnesty International urged Carney not to treat human rights as secondary. Director Ruhat Sena Aksenir highlighted Turkey's crackdown on dissent, detained journalists, LGBTQ defenders, opposition TV seizures, and the year-long imprisonment of Erdogan rival and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Erdogan's government maintains courts operate independently.