According to Kordpress, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart, pointed to the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara and announced that the preparations for this summit are being carried out quickly and that this summit will be of special importance.

"This meeting will truly be a historic summit, because the geopolitical conditions of the world have reached a stage where the decisions of the NATO member states are more decisive than ever," Fidan said. "These decisions will be important not only for the future of the coalition, but also for the future of our region."

Referring to the debates that have been discussed within NATO in recent years, he considered the increase in the defense costs of the member states as one of the most important topics of the upcoming summit and said: "The issue of increasing defense budgets is no longer just a debate; "All countries have accepted it politically."

According to him, the Ankara meeting will not only reaffirm this policy but also review the status of commitment implementation and the means of increasing member states' defense budgets.

The Turkish Foreign Minister also emphasized that the Russia-Ukraine war and other security crises have highlighted the importance of defense industries within NATO's structure more than ever before. He stated, "Defense industries are no longer a secondary issue in NATO planning and meetings; rather, they have become a strategic matter at the highest level."

Fidan announced the holding of special programs and meetings about the defense industry on the sidelines of the Ankara summit and announced that the Directorate of Defense Industries of Turkey and other related institutions are making the necessary arrangements for these programs.

The Turkish Foreign Minister added that the leaders of the NATO member states will discuss issues such as the future of the alliance, how to coordinate the different views of the members, the differences between the two sides of the Atlantic, the assessment of security threats and the level of NATO readiness.

Fidan expressed hope that these discussions will be followed in a constructive atmosphere and emphasized that Recep Tayyip Erdogan will play a key role in guiding the strategic dialogues of the NATO summit.

Referring to the relations between Ankara and Ottawa, he said that Türkiye and Canada have decided to upgrade bilateral relations to a strategic level. According to him, preliminary talks have started to reach a free trade agreement between the two countries and the two sides are also seeking to expand cooperation in areas such as energy, defense industries, strategic minerals and nuclear energy.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand also emphasized the importance of relations with Turkey, describing this country as "one of NATO's important allies" and saying that Canada will participate in the NATO summit in Ankara with the presence of its Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. He also pointed to the main points of this meeting and stated that the upcoming summit will focus on defense cooperation, development of defense industries, integration of supply chains and strengthening of cooperation among NATO members.