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Türkiye and Canada signed defense, air transport and energy agreements Thursday during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Ankara.
Haluk Gorgun, head of Türkiye's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), said the defense memorandum shows both NATO allies' determination to strengthen their partnership.
The agreements were signed at the Presidential Complex in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Carney.
Carney and his delegation will continue their contacts in Istanbul as of Friday.
Gorgun and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Sector Partnerships.
Gorgun said on X he attended the official welcoming ceremony for Carney, hosted by Erdogan, as well as the leaders’ bilateral talks.
He said the talks focused on steps to elevate relations with NATO ally Canada to the level of a strategic partnership. The agenda also included expanding bilateral cooperation, particularly in the defense industry, and current regional and global developments, he added.
"We signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Sector Partnerships between Türkiye and Canada," Gorgun said, adding, "This signature was a concrete demonstration of our determination to strengthen the defense partnership between the two allies."
Gorgun also pointed to the standing of Turkish defense firms abroad.
"Under the leadership of our president, our defense industry continues to be one of Türkiye’s most important force multipliers, with rising exports and platforms that have proven themselves on the international stage," he noted.
Anand said the relationship between Canada and Türkiye carries growing significance for economic interests and for their responsibilities as NATO allies.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu and Anand signed an Air Transport Agreement at the ceremony.
Anand wrote on X: "Canada’s relationship with Türkiye carries increasing significance for our economic interests and our responsibilities as NATO Allies. In Ankara, I joined Prime Minister Carney and President Erdogan to advance cooperation in areas central to both countries’ long-term prosperity and security."
"I signed an Air Transport Agreement to facilitate travel and commercial exchange, alongside a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation. These agreements will advance our shared priorities of our Strategic Partnership Action Plan and strengthen our collective capacity to respond to an evolving security environment," she noted.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Energy. It covers nuclear energy, LNG supply, renewable energy and mining.
The declaration was exchanged in front of the leaders during the signing ceremony.
In the declaration, the ministers said the global energy sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation. They committed to bilateral cooperation built on the two countries’ complementary strengths, aimed at increasing the resilience of both energy sectors.
The ministers highlighted the importance of nuclear technology for strengthening energy security, supporting economic growth and reaching clean energy goals. They expressed mutual satisfaction at exploring possible cooperation in civil nuclear energy based on Canadian nuclear technology.
They also agreed to develop dialogue among public institutions, regulators, research and technical bodies and industry representatives.
The declaration noted Canada’s growing LNG export capacity, considering global supply gaps and rising prices. The ministers agreed to facilitate talks between Canadian LNG project developers and potential long-term buyers.
Bayraktar met Hodgson at the ministry before the leaders' talks, according to a ministry statement. He later greeted Carney at Ankara Airport and accompanied the Canadian delegation on a visit to Anitkabir.
Bayraktar said on the X platform that nuclear energy was at the center of the agenda.
"At the center of our agenda was nuclear energy, which has a strategic place in Türkiye’s long-term energy supply security," he said, adding, "We focused on evaluating the applicability of Canada’s CANDU reactor technology in our country and developing technical cooperation in this direction."
"While increasing our nuclear capacity, we place importance on diversifying our technology options, strengthening our engineering competence and growing our industry’s share in the nuclear value chain," he added.
LNG trade, renewable energy investments and mining were also on the agenda, Bayraktar said.
"We aim to turn the two countries’ accumulated expertise and investment potential into partnerships that will provide mutual benefit," he said.
Bayraktar said the declaration creates a comprehensive framework for cooperation in nuclear energy, LNG supply, renewable energy and mining.
"We demonstrated our will to increase mutual investments and establish new partnerships among our companies," he said, noting, "Canada’s growing LNG export capacity and its accumulated expertise in nuclear technology, together with our country’s growing energy market and investment targets, offer important opportunities for our long-term cooperation."
"In an era when geopolitical tensions are reshaping energy flows and market uncertainties and supply chain vulnerabilities are increasing, the long-term relationships countries build with reliable partners matter even more," Bayraktar said. "In this framework, I hope the areas of cooperation in the declaration will turn into concrete work that benefits our countries in the coming period."
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