NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects that the members of the defence alliance will soon pledge to increase their military spending to at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), he said in media comments published on Wednesday.

“I expect that we will make a new pledge on defence spending when we meet in Vilnius at the NATO summit in July this year, because the current pledge made in Wales lasted for a decade until 2024,” the Norwegian told the German newspaper Die Welt.

“So we need to update we need to replace that. I cannot tell you exactly what allies will agree but I expect there to be a more ambitious pledge because everyone sees we need to invest more.”

In this context, the NATO chief also mentioned the German government’s special budget of €100 billion ($109 billion) for the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. Currently, Germany is one of several alliance members that do not meet the 2% target.

Source: dpa/MIA