By Janet Ekstract, ISTANBUL – German-Turkish relations as well as EU membership will be on the agenda when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 30 in Ankara. Merz will make his first official visit to Turkiye since taking office and the two will be shoring up bilateral relations. The focus will be on trade, energy, security and migration along with regional and global conflicts. The Turkish leader will host Merz and his delegation in Ankara, according to a statement from the Communications Director Burhanettin Duran who said: “Turkiye-Germany relations will be discussed in all their aspects.” The two leaders are also expected to trade views on ways to broaden and develop cooperation in a number of areas. This includes discussing Turkiye’s European Union accession process as well as global, regional security challenges, Burhanettin said. Prior to Merz’s visit, German Foreign Minister Johann David Wadephul was in Ankara to finalize preparations for the visit, meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Both leaders have spoken about the significance of continued high-level exchanges between the two allies, particularly amid increasing uncertainty over security on the a European continent and beyond.A top priority for the two leaders will be cooperation in the defense industry as Germany is a member of a four-nation consortium that agreed to the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Turkiye. A deal for the transaction of 20 Eurofighter Typhoons was signed between Turkiye and the United Kingdom on October 27.
Meanwhile, Germany recently announced its nation’s largest armament campaign since World War II ended. This follows increasing risks and threats coming from the Russian occupation of Ukraine and Germany views Turkiye as a potential partner in the defense industry. The leaders are also expected to discuss Greece and Cyprus with Turkiye expected to demand Germany impose pressure on Greece and Greek Cyprus for its admission into the EU’s SAFE – a 150-billion euro financial instrument to boost defense industry production on the continent. Trade will be another significant focus since trade and energy are two major areas of bilateral cooperation between the two nations. Germany is Turkiye’s top trading partner with over 50 billion euros in trade volume. In the energy sector, both leaders want to boost their cooperation toward a more strategic level as the two foreign ministers discussed prior to Merz’s visit.
