Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Turkey on Thursday for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening economic and strategic ties between the two countries, AP reports.

The visit comes after Ottawa lifted an arms export ban to Turkey in 2024, which was also imposed over Ankara’s military support for Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia. In a sign of improving ties, Canada lifted its ban on the export of weapons to Turkey in 2024.

It had imposed the restrictions following Turkey’s military incursions into Syria and over Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia, including providing equipment that used Canadian-made parts. Ottawa had said it was concerned that Canadian-made parts could be used in military equipment involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.