ANKARA, Turkey—Turkey and Britain signed a deal to jointly build fighter jets during Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to Ankara on Saturday, even as the British leader called on Turkey’s government to uphold democracy and abide by human rights standards.
Britain’s BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace industries signed the 100 million-pound (nearly $125.5 million) agreement establishing a partnership for the development of Turkey’s fighter jet program after May met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials about boosting trade between the countries once Britain leaves the European Union.
The two countries agreed to start preparatory work for a future free trade agreement and also talked about increasing cooperation in security and counterterrorism.
“This agreement underlines once again that Britain is a great, global, trading nation and that we are open for business,” May said of the fighter jet deal, according to a statement. “It marks the start of a new and deeper trading relationship with Turkey and will potentially secure British and Turkish jobs and prosperity for decades to come.”
