Brussels. June 24. INTERFAX - According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the two-day summit of the alliance, which opens in The Hague on Tuesday, will take place at a time when the security of the West is threatened by serious, growing problems.
"As the world becomes more dangerous, the leaders of the allied countries will make bold decisions to strengthen our collective defense, making NATO a stronger, fairer and more deadly alliance," Rutte announced on the eve of a meeting of the heads of state and government of the 32 countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The NATO Secretary General said that these decisions will include "a new major defense investment plan that increases defense investment to 5% of GDP."
This plan, which the NATO countries must agree on in The Hague, "introduces a new baseline: 5% of GDP for investments in defense." According to Rutte, "this is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic, and fundamental to securing our future."
Rutte recalled that in 2014, the Allied countries agreed to a target of investing 2% of GDP in defense. According to him, "all allies will achieve this goal this year."
"But our security environment has changed. And not for the better. The threats we face today require that we do much more to ensure that we can effectively deter and defend," continued the head of the North Atlantic Alliance.
"The new defense investment plan is a key outcome of this summit and it will be crucial when it comes to ensuring effective deterrence and defense," Rutte stressed.
He cited several examples of future investments, including a fivefold increase in air defense capabilities, the production of thousands of additional tanks and armored vehicles, and millions of artillery shells "to deter aggression from any threat."
"All this is necessary to ensure the security of our billion citizens," the NATO Secretary General added.
The summit is expected to make "concerted efforts to build up the defense industry throughout the alliance, which will ensure not only greater security, but also more jobs." To do this, it is necessary to "work closely with industry - the main players who form the basis of our defense industrial base, as well as new players who will help us innovate and ensure our technological advantage in the future." It also means working together with partners, including Ukraine, the European Union and partners from the Asia-Pacific region, Rutte explained.
A NATO defense industry forum is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, where cooperation with a view to expanding it and new orders will be discussed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take part in the forum.
The summit is also expected to confirm "continued support for Ukraine."
"We all want peace for the Ukrainian people. (...) Nevertheless, while work continues to achieve a just and lasting peace, we must provide Ukraine with everything necessary to protect today and deter in the future. Our support for Ukraine is unwavering and will continue. And we have - I can announce this now - new assessments showing that our European and Canadian allies have stepped up and have already promised that (...) Now they will provide more than 35 billion euros of additional security assistance to Ukraine for the coming year. Thus, in a couple of months we have moved from 20 billion to 35 billion," the NATO Secretary General said.
