NATO will announce tens of billions of dollars in new defense contracts at next month's summit in Türkiye's capital, Ankara, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday, as the alliance accelerates efforts to expand defense production and bolster collective security.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council Front Page event in Washington, Rutte said NATO allies must do more to translate their economic strength into military capabilities amid growing global security challenges.
"We need to ensure that we are translating our economic might into military capabilities," Rutte said.
"This means overcoming fragmented national defense industries on basically the other side of the Atlantic, cutting red tape here in Washington and keeping innovation front and center across the alliance."
Rutte said the July 7-8 NATO summit in Ankara would provide an opportunity to showcase progress in expanding defense industrial cooperation and increasing production capacity.
