The NATO Defense Ministerial in October will focus on defense spending, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a Heritage Foundation event in Washington, DC on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th September, 2018) The NATO Defense Ministerial in October will focus on defense spending, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a Heritage Foundation event in Washington, DC on Friday.
"After our July summit, all NATO allies agreed to redouble their efforts on defense spending, this will be a main focus of the defense minister's meeting next month," Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg highlighted that NATO is strengthening its maritime posture in the Arctic, investing more in naval capabilities, and just agreed to establish a new Atlantic command with headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. He added that NATO is doing more to improve surveillance and reconnaissance.
On Thursday, US Defense Secretary and Stoltenberg met at the Pentagon to discuss a broad range of issues including plans for the ministerial meeting.
Since taking office in January 2017, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressed other NATO member states to meet their annual defense spending obligations within the alliance.
Only five out of 29 NATO members - Estonia, Greece, Latvia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - currently meet their commitment to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense, according to NATO.
