Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have announced a Canada-Turkey strategic partnership covering defence, energy and trade, The Globe and Mail reports from Ankara.
The two leaders unveiled a three-year action plan on Thursday. Export Development Canada will team up with Turkey's export bank to back joint ventures abroad in energy, mining, infrastructure and transport, and a new air deal will lift weekly passenger flights between the countries from 12 to 21. Talks on a free trade agreement are due to start next month.
Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to make a bilateral visit to Turkey, said Canada wanted reliable partners and hopes to sell CANDU reactors, critical minerals and liquefied natural gas. The paper notes that critics accuse Erdogan of steering Turkey towards autocracy, and that the deal lends him international legitimacy.
Source: The Globe and Mail
