Canada, European NATO states to raise defence spending by 4.3 percent in 2017

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg inspects troops during Iron Wolf 2017 exercise in Stasenai, Lithuania, June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

European allies of NATO and Canada will increase defence spending by 4.3 percent in 2017, marking a cumulative $46 billion (36 billion pounds) jump since cuts stopped in 2014, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
"To keep our nations safe, we need to keep working to increase defence spending and fairer burden-sharing across our alliance," Stoltenberg said a day before NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels
to discuss greater security expenditure, which U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for.
"After years of decline, in 2015 we saw a real increase in defence spending across European allies and Canada ... this year, we foresee an even greater real increase of 4.3 percent," he told a news conference.

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