NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday the Alliance’s summit in Ankara will focus on how member countries are putting last year’s commitments into practice.
Speaking ahead of the meeting of Allied heads of state and government, Rutte stated tat countries would be expected to show how they are turning pledges made at last year’s summit in The Hague into stronger armed forces, higher defence production and additional military capabilities.
He emphasised that European NATO members and Canada had made progress towards a goal of spending 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by 2035, a target agreed by Allies.
European Allies and Canada are “already investing around 4% of their GDP in defence and security”, one year into what he described as a 10-year project, Rutte said at a pre-summit news conference in Ankara, cited by the NATO press service.
Rutte declared he expected nations in Ankara to set out “clear, concrete and credible plans” to reach the 5% target.
New contracts and Ukraine support
NATO Allies will announce “tens of billions” of euros in new contracts for military equipment at the summit, Rutte said.
He added that continued support for Ukraine would be a key topic, calling on NATO members and partners to ensure the country “gets what it needs”.
All Allies need to “pull their weight” so support continues, he said.
