Stockholm: Sweden will increase its defence budget by 20 per cent next year, in order to meet the NATO target of 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Minister for Defense Pal Jonson said.
The defence budget will be upped by 20 billion kronor ($1.86 billion) to reach 117 billion kronor in 2024, reports Xinhua news agency citing Swedish Television (SVT) as saying.
For 2025, the government plans to increase the budget by a further 12 billion kronor, SVT reported.
“We will reach 2.1 per cent (of the GDP) according to NATO’s definition,” Jonson told SVT.
“This is absolutely necessary as the Armed Forces are facing higher costs due to increasing fuel costs and inflation,” the Minister added.
The Swedish government decided to seek NATO membership in May 2022.
So far, NATO member states Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Sweden as a member.
–IANS