NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte expressed confidence today that allied nations will present “clear, concrete, and credible” plans at the Ankara summit to increase defense spending to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2035.
“At this summit, I expect countries to present clear, concrete, and credible plans to achieve the 5% target. And the data we see so far is impressive,” Rutte stated during a press conference held on the eve of the meeting of alliance heads of state and government.
According to the NATO chief, just one year after allies pledged to ramp up spending during the Hague summit, European countries and Canada already invest an average of roughly 4% of their GDP into defense and security.
Rutte noted that European allies and Canada increased their defense expenditures by nearly 20% over the past year. When factoring in additional investments projected for 2025 and 2026, the cumulative funding boost climbs to $258 billion (approximately €200 billion).
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“It is not sustainable to ask a country of 350 million people, located an eight-hour flight away from here, to defend 600 million people living in this part of NATO territory, the richest in the world,” Rutte declared, asserting that Europe is successfully taking on greater responsibility for its conventional defense.
The first day of the Ankara summit will center on the NATO Defense Industry Forum. Rutte revealed that the alliance expects to announce new military hardware contracts worth tens of billions of euros during the forum to reinforce allied capabilities.
“The investment is there. Now we have to ensure we are converting our economic power into military capabilities,” the NATO leader urged, advocating for deeper defense industry integration and a reduction in red tape to fast-track weapon and equipment production lines.
The ongoing war in Ukraine remains at the top of the summit’s agenda. Rutte explained that allies are poised to finalize a commitment of approximately €140 billion in military assistance to Kyiv spread over two years, drawing primarily from previously approved funding pools.
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Additionally, the Secretary-General warned that NATO must maintain close scrutiny over China’s role in global security, calling for tighter cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners such as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan.
“We cannot be naive about China,” Rutte concluded, reiterating that Beijing, alongside North Korea and Iran, continues to actively sustain Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
