Norway is aiming to reach NATO's target of spending 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in the next three years by increasing its military spending.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in Oslo on Tuesday that the 2% target should be met by 2026 and that a concrete plan was now being worked out.
At the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in July, Norway wants to show how it intends to achieve this goal. According to Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, defence spending is to be increased by a total of more than 11 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.02 billion) by 2026.
Norway, with a population of 5.5 million, is a founding member of NATO and the home country of the current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
In 2014, the Western defence alliance issued the common goal that member states spend 2% of their GDP on defence. Many, including Germany, are still well short of this target.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Norway spent around $8.4 billion on the military last year - which corresponds to 1.6% of GDP.
