Prime Minister May in Turkey on visit focusing on trade & security

World Today

Following a visit to the United States, British Prime Minister Theresa May made an official visit to Turkey where she held meetings with both the Turkish president and prime minister to bolster economic and defense cooperation.

The leaders discussed strategies to work closely to boost business and strengthen their alliance.

CGTN’s Michal Bardavid reports. Follow Michal Bardavid on Twitter @michal_bardavid

“As two NATO countries, we always stand in solidarity and work in this manner. We discussed joint steps we can take together particularly when it comes to defense cooperation. I believe our cooperation will be very different from now on. We aim to increase annual trade from about $15 billion dollars to $20 billion,” Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, said.

A significant deal was reached as Britain’s BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace industries agreed to establish a partnership to develop fighter jets for the Turkish air force – worth nearly $125 million.

The timing of the visit is also significant as Britain wants to strengthen its hand before the U.K. begins discussing an exit plan with the EU – which is expected to start at the end of March.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also announced Turkey and the U.K. plan to sign a free trade deal once Britain’s exit from the EU is finalized. On security – the leaders stressed the significance of cooperation May acknowledged Turkey was on the frontline of serious
challenges in terms of terrorism. She also noted the U.K. supported Turkey during the failed coup attempt last year but added Britain expects Turkey to respect human rights.