Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The closed-door meeting focused on strengthening Türkiye-Canada relations and exchanging views on regional and global developments, according to sources from the Turkish Presidency.

Erdoğan underlined Türkiye’s determination to expand cooperation with Canada across a wide range of fields, with particular emphasis on trade, energy, technology, and civil aviation.

Highlighting the two countries’ NATO alliance, the Turkish leader called for deeper collaboration in the defense industry. “As allies, we want to further advance our defense industry cooperation,” President Erdoğan was quoted as saying, adding that building on the recent acceleration in this area would serve the mutual interests of both nations.

Türkiye and Canada have in recent years sought to overcome past tensions over defense exports and regional security issues. The meeting comes as Ankara pushes to broaden its international defense partnerships while maintaining strong ties with Western allies.

No further details about specific agreements or outcomes of the talks were immediately released. The G20 Summit continues through the weekend, with leaders addressing issues including global economic growth, climate finance, and geopolitical challenges. (ILKHA)