Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister said on Monday in Berlin that "Switzerland wants and is ready to take responsibility for its own security, but also to meet the expectations of other European countries that Switzerland, too, should contribute to the security of our continent. We want to live up to this aspiration as a reliable partner."
He was speaking at a meeting of the DACH countries, a region of shared economic and cultural heritage that comprises of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Countries that in the past spent relatively little on their defence have changed course in recent years following the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Among them is traditionally neutral Switzerland, which is neither a member of the EU nor of NATO.
Switzerland currently spends about 0.7% of its GDP on defence, putting it well below many European NATO states. Bern plans to increase spending gradually to 1% of GDP by 2032. By comparison, Germany currently invests around 2.4% of its GDP in defence.
According to Pfister, Switzerland "still has a well-functioning militia army with about 140,000 servicewomen and men" making it "a respectably large army" by European standards.
