Latest news with #militaryBudget
Russia Today
26-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
NATO commits to doubling military budgets: As it happened
NATO leaders have agreed to a massive spike in defense spending, overcoming internal divisions and relegating Ukraine to a secondary agenda item to finalize a historic pact that will double members' military budgets. At a short summit in The Hague, the US-led military bloc committed to raising defense expenditures to 5% of member GDP by 2035, a dramatic escalation from the current 2% target. US President Donald Trump hailed the agreement as a 'monumental win,' having pressured European members to 'pay their share' since the first term. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte framed the spending surge as building an alliance that is 'stronger, fairer, and more lethal', a mantra he has championed since June 2025 as NATO's new strategic doctrine. Rutte has been doubling down on flattery, privately texting Trump praise for his 'decisive action' by attacking Iran and crediting him for NATO's historic 5% defense spending target increase. During the summit the NATO chief then likened the US president to a 'daddy' using 'strong language,' defending Trump's recent on-camera f-bomb about Iran and Israel. In an unusually short five-paragraph statement NATO leaders cited undefined 'long-term threats' from Russia while Ukraine was only mentioned in one sentence. Ukrainian Leader Vladimir Zelensky was confined to a pre-summit dinner, excluded from key meetings, and granted a sidelined conversation with Trump, who stated that ceasefire talks were 'not on the agenda'. This live stream has ended.
Bloomberg
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Australia Says It Will Base Defense Spending on Country's Needs
Australia's deputy prime minister said the nation will base defense spending on national interest, amid calls by President Donald Trump for US Indo-Pacific allies to increase military budgets. Richard Marles, also Australia's defense minister, will join NATO leaders for meetings in the coming week at the Hague. 'There will inevitably be conversations around defense spending,' he said in a Sky News Australia interview on Sunday.
Arab News
11-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan hikes defense budget 20 percent following conflict with India, but overall spending is cut
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has hiked defense spending by 20 percent following last month's deadly conflict with India. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the increase Tuesday as part of the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, in which overall spending will be cut by 7 percent to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62 billion). Pakistan and India were pushed to the brink of war earlier this year after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, marking the biggest breakdown in relations between them since 2019. Weeks of tension followed, culminating in missile and drone strikes that resulted in dozens of fatalities on both sides of the border. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government was allocating 2.55 trillion rupees ($9 billion) for defense compared with 2.12 trillion rupees in the previous budget. India in February increased its defense spending by 9.5 percent. Sharif told the Cabinet: 'All economic indicators are satisfactory. After defeating India in a conventional war, now we have to go beyond it in the economic field as well.' Opposition members of the National Assembly verbally abused Aurangzeb, chanting slogans, throwing scrunched-up copies of the budget at him, whistling, and banging their desks as he gave his address. The coming year's defense allocation is considerably more than the government's expenditure on higher education, agricultural development, and mitigating climate-related risks, to which Pakistan is especially prone.
Al Jazeera
10-06-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Pakistan ramps up defence spending by 20 percent after India conflict
Pakistan has announced a major boost to defence spending in its new budget, just weeks after coming to the brink of a fifth war with archrival India. The budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026, announced by the government on Tuesday, ramps up defence spending to 2.55 trillion rupees ($9bn), up 20 percent from the current fiscal year, which ends this month. The hike in defence expenditures comes amid a cut in overall spending, which is shrinking by 7 percent to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62bn). The budget reflects Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's goals of spurring growth while boosting Pakistan's military in the wake of the most serious conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in nearly three decades. The bitter foes attacked each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery for several days in May before a ceasefire was declared. The hostilities were triggered by a deadly attack by gunmen in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, which India accused Pakistan of supporting. Pakistan denied any role in the attack. A 20 percent boost in defence spending had been expected by economists, who said it would likely be offset by cuts in development spending, the Reuters news agency reported. India's defence spending in its 2025-2026 fiscal year, running from April to March, was set at $78.7bn, up nearly 10 percent from the previous year, and it has indicated it will ramp up its spending further in future budgets.
Associated Press
10-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Pakistan hikes defense budget 20% following conflict with India, but overall spending is cut
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan Tuesday hiked defense spending by 20% following last month's deadly conflict with India. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the increase as part of the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, in which overall spending will be cut by 7% to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62 billion). Pakistan and India were pushed to the brink of war earlier this year after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, marking the biggest breakdown in relations between them since 2019. Weeks of tension followed, culminating in missile and drone strikes that resulted in dozens of fatalities on both sides of the border. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government was allocating 2.55 trillion rupees ($9 billion) for defense compared with 2.12 trillion rupees in the previous budget. India in February increased its defense spending by 9.5%. Sharif told the Cabinet: 'All economic indicators are satisfactory. After defeating India in a conventional war, now we have to go beyond it in the economic field as well.' Opposition members of the National Assembly verbally abused Aurangzeb, chanting slogans, throwing scrunched-up copies of the budget at him, whistling, and banging their desks as he gave his address. The coming year's defense allocation is considerably more than the government's expenditure on higher education, agricultural development, and mitigating climate-related risks, to which Pakistan is especially prone.
