NATO Secretary General Urges Member States to Fulfill Commitments and Increase Military Spending Share
Xinhua News Agency, Ankara, July 6 (Reporter Wang Tengfei) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged NATO member countries on the 6th to fulfill their commitments to increase defense spending to 5% of their respective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2035.
Stoltenberg made the statement at a press conference held in the Turkish capital, Ankara. He expressed hope that member countries would present clear, specific, and credible plans at the NATO summit in Ankara to achieve the goal of raising defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Stoltenberg stated that NATO must convert its economic strength into military capability and invest funds in key areas such as missile and interception systems.
According to the NATO summit declaration published in June 2025, NATO member country leaders reached an agreement on future military spending targets, deciding to increase annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. However, there have been ongoing disagreements within NATO on how to achieve this goal.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged member countries on July 6, 2023, in Ankara to fulfill their commitment to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. He called for clear and credible plans from member states to achieve this target, highlighting the need to invest in key areas such as missile and interception systems. Internal disagreements on how to reach this goal persist among NATO members.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged member countries to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
- The statement was made during a press conference in Ankara, Turkey.
- NATO leaders agreed on future military spending targets at the June 2025 summit.
- There are internal disagreements within NATO on how to achieve this goal.
- Stoltenberg emphasized the need to convert economic strength into military capability.