Kuwait City: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced that NATO defence ministers have agreed on an ambitious new set of capability targets aimed at building a stronger, fairer, and more lethal Alliance while ensuring warfighting readiness for years to come. The announcement came during a press conference following the ministerial meeting in Brussels.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the targets outline the specific capabilities that Allies need to invest in over the coming years to maintain strong deterrence and defence, safeguarding approximately one billion people. These targets form the foundation for a new defence investment plan anticipated to be approved at the NATO Summit in The Hague. The proposal calls for Allies to allocate five percent of their GDP to defence, which includes 3.5 percent on core defence spending and 1.5 percent of GDP annually on defence and security-related investments, such as infrastructure and resilience.
The NATO-Ukraine Council also convened on Thursday with participation from Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. The Secretary-General reaffirmed the Allies' support for Ukraine, noting that this year alone, Allies have pledged over 20 billion euros in additional security assistance for the country. He also acknowledged the additional support pledged by Allies during the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting on Wednesday.
In the final meeting of the Ministerial, Allies participated in a regular session of NATO's Nuclear Planning Group. The Secretary-General emphasized that nuclear deterrence remains a cornerstone of Alliance security, ensuring NATO's nuclear capability remains strong and effective to preserve peace, prevent coercion, and deter aggression.