Türkiye an 'incredibly important strategic' ally for Canada: Premier

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday described Türkiye as a key NATO ally and a major regional power, saying Ottawa is actively working to deepen bilateral ties.

"Türkiye is an incredibly important strategic, it's a NATO ally," Carney told reporters at a news conference in Toronto.

Pointing to the country's regional importance, he said: "Regionally — and I'm going to use that term with a capital R — because it is a very large region, from the Balkans through to the Middle East to the Caucasus and beyond, (it) is one of the most important strategic partners or powers in that region."

"We have been deepening the relationship, it's early days, and deepening that relationship," he added.

Carney confirmed he will travel to Türkiye for next month's NATO summit, adding that he would also "likely again" visit the country later this year.

"We're in a process of scoping out the deepening of that relationship," he added.