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Free trade talks underway
Fidan announced that preliminary talks toward a Türkiye-Canada Free Trade Agreement have begun.
“Preliminary discussions on a Türkiye-Canada Free Trade Agreement have been launched between our relevant institutions. We aim to move this forward as soon as possible,” he said.
He said both sides expect a trade deal to significantly increase the trade volume and create new opportunities for economic cooperation.
Fidan said energy cooperation, particularly in nuclear energy, emerged as a major area of strategic opportunity.
Referring to his visit to the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Toronto with Anand, Fidan said Türkiye closely examined Canada’s technological capabilities in conventional nuclear power and small modular reactors (SMRs).
Fidan highlighted Canada’s progress in SMR technology, saying it had particularly impressed Ankara and could pave the way for strong Türkiye-Canada cooperation in nuclear energy.
Türkiye has also made substantial progress in its long-term nuclear energy strategy and is continuing efforts for a second and third nuclear power plants, he said, describing the strategic alignment with Canada in this area as highly important.
He added that both countries also see strong cooperation potential in critical minerals and liquefied natural gas.
Asked whether Canada’s special residency and work permit measures for Turkish citizens following the February 6, 2023, earthquakes were discussed, Fidan said visa, work permit and migration-related issues were comprehensively addressed during the talks with Anand.
Anand on ties with Ankara
Responding to Anadolu’s question regarding the July 7 – 8 summit in Ankara, Anand said, “This summit, in particular, is highly anticipated because of the focus on the defence industry, and in particular the way in which NATO allies will and must work together from an industrial standpoint in order to integrate supply chains and ensure interoperability, as well as the accruing economic benefits that will result from that activity.”
“We will be together not only to grow our bilateral relationship but our relationship on defense and security matters as well,” she said at the news conference.
She noted the Defense Security and Resilience Bank as one example of how NATO allies would pursue that goal, adding that Canada is “very much” looking forward to attending the summit.
Anand and Fidan met in Ottawa to advance what she described as “four strategic pillars” of the Canada-Türkiye relationship: trade and investment, energy and critical minerals, defence and security, and people-to-people ties.
On trade, she said technical discussions toward a possible Canada-Türkiye free trade agreement are underway, and noted that two-way trade reached $4.3 billion last year.
She said the two sides expanded their air transport agreement, with Turkish Airlines set to add flights to Toronto and Montreal this summer, and Air Transat launching direct service between Montreal and Istanbul in the fall.
