Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will embark on a two-day official visit to the U.K. on Thursday.
Fidan's visit will focus on talks on the wars in Iran and Ukraine, a Turkish diplomatic source said Wednesday, adding that he will also discuss cooperation between the NATO allies.
Türkiye, which neighbors Iran and is in close contact with Tehran, Washington and mediator Pakistan, hosted a diplomacy forum over the weekend attended by delegations from all sides. It has repeatedly called for an end to the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier that he would indefinitely extend the cease-fire with Iran to allow for further peace talks.
Fidan's visit comes as the British government said military planners from more than 30 countries would hold two-day talks in London from Wednesday to advance a mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. More than a dozen countries said last week they were willing to join an international mission, led by Britain and France, to protect shipping in the strait when conditions permit. Fidan has warned of difficulties with such a mission.
During his two-day visit, Fidan will also repeat Türkiye's readiness to contribute to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the source said, after Kyiv said on Wednesday it had asked Türkiye to host a leaders' level meeting with Russia. He will also convey Ankara's request to finalize a free trade agreement with Britain and emphasize the importance of deepening defense industry and energy cooperation between the allies, the source added.
The minister will meet U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, members of the U.K. Parliament and other officials. During his visit to London, diplomatic sources say, Fidan is also expected to deliver remarks at an event hosted by the University of Oxford Global History Centre and the Global Order Program and meet with members of the Turkish community and business representatives living in the U.K.
The sources said Fidan is expected to express satisfaction with the positive trajectory of relations between Türkiye and the U.K. and discuss joint efforts to expand existing cooperation and deepen ties in a multidimensional manner.
He will likely also emphasize the importance of completing negotiations to update the current free trade agreement to increase bilateral trade volume. Fidan is expected to emphasize that the nearly 500,000-strong Turkish community in the U.K. represents one of the most important elements strengthening human, cultural and economic ties between the two countries. Diplomatic sources say the foreign minister is likely to raise concerns about delays in the processing of indefinite residency applications for Turkish citizens and convey expectations for swift action to address the issue. The talks are also expected to underscore the strong political will to enhance defense industry cooperation and deepen collaboration in the energy sector, including nuclear and renewable energy. During the talks, Fidan will stress the importance of EU security and defense initiatives being conducted in close coordination with NATO, according to the sources.
Fidan is anticipated to also emphasize the need for a principled, determined, and unified international stance against Israel's actions undermining the Gaza cease-fire and two-state solution prospects, as well as the importance of keeping the humanitarian situation in Palestine at the forefront of the international agenda and the critical importance of encouraging initiatives that promote long-term stability and reconstruction in Syria.
The visit follows recent high-level contacts between the two countries.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Türkiye on Oct. 27, 2025, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and agreements were signed finalizing Türkiye’s procurement of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
Fidan last visited London on Oct. 30, 2024, and attended a Ukraine-focused meeting hosted by the U.K. in London on March 2-3 of last year. He also met with Cooper on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum last Saturday.
The U.K. remains one of Türkiye’s leading trade partners. Bilateral trade volume reached $26 billion in 2025, with both sides aiming to increase it to $30 billion, diplomatic sources said.
The U.K. became Türkiye’s second-largest export market in 2025 and remained among the top three in foreign investment and tourism. Between 2002 and 2025, British investments in Türkiye reached $14.5 billion, while Turkish investments in the U.K. totaled $3.5 billion. In 2025, 4.3 million tourists from the U.K. visited Türkiye.
Negotiations to expand the scope of the current free trade agreement between the two countries are ongoing, with completion targeted in 2026, according to diplomatic sources.
