Türkiye, UK aim to deepen defense, trade ties

ANKARA

Türkiye and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their commitment to expanding defense and economic cooperation during the first official visit of British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to Ankara.

“There is an intense cooperation traffic between the two countries in many areas, including our economy, defense and technological cooperation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters on June 30 at a joint press conference with Lammy.

The visit came as the two non-EU NATO allies seek to update their existing free trade agreement and advance Türkiye’s planned procurement of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, a program jointly developed by the U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain.

Fidan said Türkiye’s foreign trade volume with the U.K. is nearing the $30 billion mark — a longstanding target.

“Both sides have really put in a lot of effort on this issue. We have seen that there are actually much greater opportunities ahead of us in terms of trade and investment,” he said, emphasizing the need to update the bilateral free trade deal.

On defense cooperation, Fidan noted, “From the supply of Eurofighters to our joint work in other areas, our companies and relevant institutions are working well on this issue.”

Ankara has been negotiating the deal with London, which is also in talks with the other partner nations to secure approval.

The Turkish top diplomat also pointed to a shared diplomatic outlook, saying their positions aligned on major international issues such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as tensions involving Iran.

Lammy echoed the sentiment, calling his discussions with Fidan part of a broader strategy to bolster ties between the two countries.

“The frequency of our meetings shows the close cooperation between Türkiye and the U.K.,” he said. “We are working together to strengthen our bilateral relations.”

He said the updated trade agreement, which is expected to cover a potential trade volume of 28 billion pounds ($38.3 billion), would bring businesses and people from both countries closer together.

“The Turkish and U.K. business worlds will come together, companies will work together, and it will be a demonstration of our strong cooperation in the business world and also a demonstration of the strong relationship between our peoples,” Lammy said.

He also praised Türkiye’s role in peace diplomacy, particularly regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine. “They have made very important efforts to stop Russia's attacks… and to establish peace in the Black Sea region,” Lammy said.