NATO defense ministers agreed on a plan to accelerate defense-related industrial capacity and production at the opening of a two-day summit in The Hague focused on raising military spending to at least 5% of GDP.
The summit's opening on Tuesday was expected to be dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump's first appearance at the military alliance since 2019, during his first term, and his decision to strike three nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran, followed by a fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire.
Trump has made it a priority to boost each of the 32 member countries' defense spending as part of the world's largest military alliance, but his expected appearance has been overshadowed by the U.S. intervention in the Israel-Iran war over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and his abrupt announcement that Israel and Iran were set to stop their mutual attacks.
At the outset defense ministers agreed to what NATO called an updated action plan to integrate commerce and cut red tape so it can "accelerate the growth of defencse industrial capacity and production, including by providing long-term orders and clear demand signals to industry."
NATO allies have reached a consensus to increase spending on defence to 5% of their countries' GDP by 2035, media reports showed on Sunday.
NATO allies already reached a consensus on the 5% of GDP spending target sought by Trump, which includes a commitment to 3.5% of GDP on weapons, troops and other 'hard defense' costs plus 1.5% for defense-related spending such as improvements to transport and cybersecurity.
"“We meet at a truly historic moment, with significant and growing challenges to our security” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of the summit. "By investing more and producing more, we build a stronger NATO."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
