Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed that Ankara shares strong ties with its NATO ally Germany in every sector, and expressed a mutual desire to resolve issues surrounding the supply of defence industry products, Paralel.Az reports citing TRT World.

His remarks came during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is visiting the Turkish metropolis Istanbul, on Saturday.

"We desire to leave behind the problems we have encountered before about purchasing defence industry products and enhance our cooperation," Erdogan said following high-level discussions.

Germany has granted a preliminary green light for the sale of 40 Eurofighter jets to Türkiye, although final approval is still pending.

Erdogan further highlighted that bilateral trade between the two nations currently stands at $50 billion, and the current goal is to reach $60 billion. Updating the EU customs union and visa liberalisation will be of "utmost benefit for all parties," Erdogan added.

The Turkish president also emphasised that Türkiye and Germany have agreed to work together in combating terrorist organisations, particularly the PKK and FETO, which "pose a serious threat to Germany’s public security as well".

He warned that the PKK and FETO are at the forefront of feeding anti-Muslim sentiments in Germany.

Scholz, for his part, cautioned against the rise of the far-right in Germany, and added that any form of inhuman exclusion cannot be accepted, "neither antisemitism nor Islamophobia."