Sweden will reach new NATO spending target of 5% of GDP, prime minister says
STOCKHOLM, June 13 (Reuters) - Sweden will reach a new NATO spending target of 5% of the country's GDP, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Friday during a joint press conference with NATO general secretary Mark Rutte in Stockholm.
At an upcoming NATO summit in the Hague, Netherlands, NATO will propose to alliance members an overall military spending target of 5% of gross domestic product, with 3.5% of GDP going to core military spending and another 1.5% for defence and security-related investments.
"I'd like to confirm that Sweden will reach a new NATO spending target of 5% of GDP, where at least 3.5% of GDP will be allocated towards core defence requirements to fulfill NATO's new capability target," Kristersson said.
Sweden, NATO's newest member, currently spends around 2.7% of GDP on defence and said this year it would target 3.5% of defence spending in 2030.
"An additional 1.5% will go towards defence related matters, civil defence, cyber security and other things that are also important," Kristersson said.
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