Rheinmetall CEO: Expects NATO defense spending to increase rapidly

Jin10 reported on May 8 that on Thursday, the CEO of German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall, Papage, stated that he expects NATO defense spending to increase rapidly. Papage said in a conference call with analysts that NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg told him during last week’s meeting that member countries should raise their defense spending to 3.5% of their respective economic outputs. Insiders revealed last week that Stoltenberg suggested NATO member countries increase their defense spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit an additional 1.5% for broader security-related expenditures to meet the 5% target proposed by U.S. President Trump.