Ankara (AFP) - Canada, locked in a trade war with the United States, opened talks with Turkey Thursday on a free trade agreement during a landmark visit by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The two sides pledged to deepen cooperation on defence, energy and efforts to tackle climate change, as Carney became the first Canadian prime minister to pay an official visit to fellow NATO member Turkey.

Carney, a former central banker, has made reducing dependence on Washington and diversifying Canada’s partnerships one of the cornerstones of his term, which began in March 2025.

“We decided to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement, which includes increasing trade and investment, before the end of the year,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a joint address to reporters.

“We hope to increase our trade volume, which is currently around $3 billion, to $5 billion and then $10 billion. We will approximately double direct flights between our countries.”

Carney said Canadian negotiators would come to Ankara next month for the first round of free trade talks.

“Our goal is not self-sufficiency, it is collective resilience,” said Carney.

“And that’s why Canada is building deeper partnerships with reliable partners that create new opportunities for us both. And in Turkey, we have an exceptional partner.”

- Joint pledge on trade -

Carney is due to meet on Friday with Turkish business leaders in Istanbul, in strategic sectors such as energy, aerospace and critical minerals.

Canada and Turkey have also identified potential for cooperation in nuclear energy.

They also announced a partnership agreement in the defence industry.

“Today’s new Agreement on Defence Industry Partnership will connect Canadian and Turkish companies to work together, creating good jobs at home, export opportunities abroad, greater security for our citizens, and contributing to a stronger NATO alliance,” Carney said.

The two sides issued a joint statement after the talks pledging to expand trade in energy supply, defence production, aerospace, and AI, and to boost cooperation in the energy sector.

The leaders also underlined their “intent to deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation” on defence and security, the joint statement said.

Carney has used multiple overseas trips to renew ties with nations such as Saudi Arabia, India and China where relations had been strained or even broken under his predecessor Justin Trudeau.

Carney has also drawn closer to Europe.