Biden advocates strengthening the defense industry so that NATO does not lag behind Russia
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday defended the need to strengthen the defense industry to prevent NATO from falling behind Russia, which thanks to “help from China, North Korea and Iran” is significantly increasing its arms production.
“Russia is on a war footing when it comes to defence production, ammunition and vehicles (…) We cannot allow the Alliance to lag behind.” (…) We cannot be surpassed by anyone”Biden emphasized during his second speech at this NATO summit held in Washington.
Biden has pointed out that although two years ago — at the very beginning of the invasion of Ukraine — a plan was launched at the Madrid summit to modernize defense systems and deter potential attacks, the next step now is to strengthen the arms industry due to Russia’s push.
The American president hasgrateful that all NATO partners have committed to increasing their defence spending, The number of allies that allocate at least 2 percent of their GDP, as well as their industrial capacities, to meet these new challenges has now increased from 9 to 20 percent.
Biden has highlighted that “for the first time”, all NATO countries have committed to developing and expanding their defense capabilities, which as an Alliance, he has celebrated, will allow them to be “more innovative and competitive”as well as being able to produce more critical defense equipment more quickly, Europa Press reports.