The prime minister's office said Mark Carney will visit Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 23, meet President Erdogan, and discuss energy, mining, climate and defence.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 23, his office said on Tuesday. It will be the first dedicated bilateral visit to NATO ally Turkey by a Canadian prime minister, Reuters reported.
Carney will meet President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and work on energy and mining, climate, and defence and security. In Istanbul he will meet business leaders and investors and promote Canada as a place for trade and investment. The office said he will stress energy, aerospace, advanced technologies, and mining and critical minerals.
Reuters said the trip is part of Carney's effort to reduce reliance on the United States after trade talks collapsed in August, and that he has pledged to double Canada's non-US trade over the next decade. He and Erdogan formally launched free-trade negotiations at the NATO leaders' summit in July.
No agreement text was released with the travel announcement. The visit is still ahead.
The statement did not list a defence contract or a signed energy deal.
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- Carney's office said he will emphasize chances to expand trade in energy, aerospace, advanced technologies, and mining and critical minerals.