Carney says he will travel to Germany next week to deepen ties

Prime Minister Mark Carney will soon travel to Europe in a bid to deepen economic and security ties with Germany.

Carney told reporters on Friday he will meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday.

"Canada has a good partnership with Germany. It's been built up over the years, but it can be much, much better and I'm confident that with this chancellor, and the focus of our government, that it will," he said.

Carney said that he will be "picking up discussions" started with Merz in the spring, when the pair met in Rome, and later at the G7 summit in Alberta.

Carney said he will be looking to deepen opportunities under Canada's trade pact with the European Union, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

"There's a broad range of areas, from critical minerals to energy and defence and security, where we are intensifying our discussions with Germany," he said.

Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, Defence Minister David McGuinty and Industry Minister Melanie Joly will accompany Carney on the trip.

The German government announced the planned meeting ahead of Carney's press conference on Friday.

Berlin's statement said the two leaders are expected to discuss current foreign and economic policy issues.

The European trip comes as attempts to broker peace in Ukraine intensify. The war ramped up this week after peace talks in Alaska failed to secure a ceasefire and Russia launched one of its heaviest bombardments against Ukraine in weeks.

Carney has been part of multiple virtual meetings of the "coalition of the willing," a bloc of nations including Canada and Germany that seeks to bolster Ukraine in its war with Russia.